vol. 46, no. 1 november 9 2015
The Pine Press
Editorial If there is one thing I'm good at, it's procrastination. I haven't written my thesis in two years, I procrastinated in coming out for several years/decades, depending on how you look at it... and I haven't completed a Pine Press yet this semester. But here we go. Inside you'll find basic profiles for your Executive Committee, and for a number of houses (if your house doesn't appear, blame your education officer...) plus some dank memes. I'm looking to move towards more of a zinestyle approach and am gathering content for the next issue. Expect the next issue out to take home for Thanksgiving and maybe be able to explain to your parents what exactly a cooperative is ;). I'd love content! The Pine Press is only as good at the group of cooperators that makes it. Specifically, I would love for someone to do a party review for the upcoming weekend, for example, or write poetry/fiction/porn. Anything really.
- JMS, "Editor" -2-
Table of Contents 2
Editorial
5
Executive Committee Introductions
8
Upcoming Events
12 House Profiles
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Goddess Laverne Says: Cooperate
Meet the Executive Committee! President Daniel Morris Newton Hello! My name is Daniel Newton and I’ll be serving as president for the duration of the 2015-16 academic year. I’ve lived in Apollo for two years and will be spending my third and final year in the SHC at Raft Hill. I count myself extremely fortunate to have found an open spot in the SHC when I did. I had just transferred to MSU, didn’t have many friends in the area, and actually almost lived in a house populated completely with members of a fraternity that shall remain nameless. Both my dad and his little brother were members of co-ops here in East Lansing during the 1970’s (Howland and Hedrick respectively) so, when I found an open space in Apollo online, I knew what had to be done. I’ve grown to love the cooperative model and wish to continue working with co-ops as a career for as long as I can.
Raft Hill president@msu.coop "El Capitan"
Age: 24
Height: 6'1'' (but really 6' 0.5")
Weight: Don't worry about it
Major: Poli Sci (Grad. Spring 2015)
Year's Goals: Fostering member agency in SHC decision-making and increasing SHC involvement in our community via neighborhood associations and various city commissions to help members familiarize themselves with democratic decisionmaking and encourage their involvement (now and in the future when they’re living elsewhere) while strengthening SHC ties with our community here in the Lansing area. During the semester, I’ll typically be in the office most afternoons during the week. Feel free to drop by and say hey, or ask any questions you might have.
Executive Vice President of Education Jessica Sietsema
Bowie/Elsworth education@msu.coop pinepress@msu.coop Gayest gay who ever gayed
I’m Jessica Sietsema and I started living in the coops because I was a scared frosh who didn’t want to go live with her parents in the Michigan Bible Belt (just west of GR). I found community and the coops have been my home since. I’m a Philosophy major - just need to write my thesis - and probably something else but have been taking the last few years slowly while I try to figure out who the fuck I am and how to live with myself. The coops have been great for me, I think, and really opened me up, even as I am having growing pains living in them... I lived in Hedrick for 2.5 years total and moved to Bowie this August. Honestly I could be almost anything in ten years, and that really scares me. I’m leaning towards law because I have those verbal skills. It’s just a question of I want to put up with the five years of norma-fucking-tive hazing that is the entry into the law profession, and being a progressive lawyer is basically a contradiction in terms. I’ll be honest that I've been strongly with some major depression. Mainly I’ve been doing work on improving institutional norms and process. Toward this end I have been helping with the transition (lol) towards policy governance which should be… interesting. We’ll see. Also I executed the Fall Board Retreat which was pretty good. I’m the publisher/editor of the Pine Press, and given that this is the first edition of the year well, that’s going so swell.
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Vice President of Facilities Carley Pagels My name is Carley Elisabeth Pagels. I’m from a small area not town in Northern Michigan known as Grand Lake. I attend MSU, and am in my senior year. My degree is in interdisciplinary Social Science with a cognate in Anthropology with a specialization in Health Promotion. I am going to go to Atlanta, Georgia for Chiropractic school after I graduate (summer 2016 YO). I am very passionate about chiropractic and health in general. In order to keep my health I do yoga, cook, and sleep. For fun I LOVE being out on a lake! I enjoy being surrounded by family and close friends. Get ahold of me at Orion to chill and chat. GO Green :)
Orion House facilities@msu.coop Mike McCurdyWrangler
Vice President of Membership Nikki Turek 21 years young Major: Arts & Humanities with a focus on making the world a better place. I joined the SHC because I am incredibly passionate about communal living and working with collective energy. I think it's the SHC is coolest opportunity to live amongst a wide range of individuals and coming together for common goals of being loving and supportive. I also love having the ability to paint my own room and have kittens rolling around.
Hedrick House vpmembership@msu.coop
"Happyfeet"
Goals: My goals for the SHC this year is to deeply embed ourselves in the surrounding community by participating in local events, neighborhood clean ups and generally having a loving relationship with our neighbors and members. Another goal, is to make our relationships within the membership more cultivating, supportive, safe and rooted. I intend to do this by creating spaces/ meetings that are engaging and constructive. This will also take shape through more opportunities such as skill shares, all member gatherings, workshops, potlucks, hayrides, cabin trips and much more to ensure that our members know each other, feel comfortable and are truly growing being in the SHC and having a blast while participating! With endless love and support, Nikki
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Corporate Treasurer Kevin McCoy Name: Kevin McCoy I do the money *wink* Senior, studying finance Likes: dogs, things that are cool Dislikes: stupid things, when my car breaks down Life goals: hike a mountain on every continent Favorite season: summer Bowie/Elsworth finance@msu.coop
Reason I love living cooperatively: everyone's voice is heard, and conclusions can be drawn from a group rather than an individual.
El Contador
Corporate Secretary Kennedy Cullen Dearest members of the SHC, My name is Kennedy Cullen and I am the Corporate Secretary for the SHC. My main duty is to perform evaluations of all the Vice Presidents, as well as the President (that’s right Dan, not even you are safe). I love to bike, swim, play minecraft, snuggle, and read anything I can get my hands on. I’m a Kinesiology major going into my senior year, and next year I will be attending Palmer College of Chiropractic.
Beal House corporatesecretary @msu.coop Preventing EC Power Grabs Since 2015
I joined the SHC to be a part of the community of students who aim to experience and embrace an inclusive and cooperative lifestyle. As soon as I moved in to my house (Beal), I instantly felt welcome. I have made so many amazing connections with people and cherish the opportunity to continue living in such an amazing environment. Big shoutout to my Beallionaires, you guys are the best housemates I could have ever hoped for. 10/10, would live there forever. Indubitably yours, Kennedy
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Upcoming Events
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Vesta's Best Vest Banger November 14th 505 M.A.C. 11 - Cousin Tim, Mefda 11.30 - The Young Floods 12 - T.R.I.P. 12.30 - Chief Larsen + the Fire Puppets 1.30 - Whatever Mackley
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11/13 Get Funky Fresh at Howland 11/14 Phoenix Party ft. Hot Dad, The Cowards, Mystery DJ's 12/04 Apollo Party -10-
Remember, Kids: via Nihilisa Frank, A+ webcontent
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House of Apollo The House of Apollo is unique because its culture is so young since being recolonized from Avalon. The walls are mostly blank canvasses – so stop on by, live here a while, and leave your legacy! This year members have significantly improved the house by creating a second living room and band set-up in the basement. We have also expanded our garden and refinished our front deck. Lastly, our main living room is almost always clean and is soon to be expecting new furniture! As for the people who live here, we are all different! We have a very diverse group of housemates that have many different majors, interests, and hobbies. Together we form a family-loving type environment where everyone has each other’s backs. So come live with us and became a fellow Apollonian!
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Beal Beal is small and sweet. It's pretty new to the SHC - it existed as an independent coop until 2009, making it the second-mostrecent addition to the system (after Howlandia).
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Bowie/Elsworth The house so nice they named it twice! We are Elsworth, better known as David Bowie Memorial Coop (yes, he's still alive). We defy norms just like our namesake. We're a collection of kooky hoomans living, sleeping, and loving it up. This house is more than just an ugly taupe rectangle on Grand River Ave. We have study parties, bomb-ass bonfires, cider mill excursions, and postparty brunches. We pride ourselves in our strong meal plan (Sunday through Thursday dinners and two snacks a week) and extensive pantry.
Hedrick This fall, Hedrick welcomed 12 new house mates and 3 returning. Living in a house with 15 individuals may seem a little daunting but here we choose to thrive in the chaos. As Hedroids, we quickly learned communication and understanding are the keys to co-op bliss. If you come by, you might find us engaged in a Super Smash Bros competition, playing one of our various board games, watching Rick and Morty on a Sunday night, going on an ice cream run to figure out the flavor of the week at Tasty Twist or relaxing in the plant room with our kitty Khaleesi. We also love preparing and enjoying our house meals together which always lead to lively discussions and lot of laughter. The house is very excited for the arrival of fall. We can’t wait to harvest the pumpkins from our garden and to host our spooky Halloween party at the end of the month. Hedrick house is love. Love is Hedrick house. <3<3<3
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Howland(ia) It's the big blue one. Howlandia is the newest and bluest house in the SHC. With the best porch in the 48823 and enough animals to qualify as a zoo (don't tell the City), we're taking on the 2015-16 year.
Education Officer: Carly Blum Membership Officer: Brittini Burton Maintenance Officer: Ryan Ortiz Finance Officer: Shobana Ganganithi Board Rep: Allison Montambeau
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New Community
We are New Community Co-op, that badass co-op on Ann st. with the dope deck that you’re just begging to hang out on. Like most co-ops we’re made up of a bunch of loveable misfits that work hard, well hard enough to get by, and play a lot harder. We’re those kind of people that know our lives are sorta a shit show, and kinda like it that way, but as close as we get to the proverbial edge, we pull it all together and look great doing it in an effortless cooler-than-thou kinda way. For real though, you want to live here, and in co-ops in general because of the people, the experiences, the love. You’ll love living in a house full of people with diverse interests and perspectives, full of open and accepting people like yourself. Don’t kid yourself you’ve been begging for a deep connection with someone, anyone, who shares some common/uncommon interests, or maybe just someone who will listen to you talk for, oh i don’t know, the time it takes to smoke a cigarette or drink a beer. You want to feel part of something, you want to be thrown into a house full of strangers and come out thinking of them like family. The name of our house, “New Community,” describes exactly that. Each year fifteen unique individuals decide to live cooperatively in our house together and before you know it, each person has become a part of a new community, and what was just a house has become your home, and your housemates; lifelong friends you now think of like family. You gain a social support base, a sense of belonging, lots of fun times, and a love of working together cooperatively for everyone’s collective success because you’ve become more than just a unique individual, you’re a part of your house and have a stake in its continued prosperity. However, it doesn’t end there. You’re also a co-oper and your house is but one of fourteen in East Lansing. Always within a short walk away are many other SHC co-ops full of lovely people that would be more than happy to invite you into their home and get down on the dance floor with you to some funky jams.
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Pheonix Haus We're a funky fresh home of lovers, no fighters - unless you count the occasional wrestling match (participation semi-optional). You can find Phoenicians focused on academics or hustling during the days with good, wholesome family fun every night. One favorite past-time is setting off the fire alarm every few so months, going strong since 2013. Otherwise we're noodlin', hula hoopin', Tetris attackin', instrumental jammin', fandanglin, and otherwise eliciting a good time. There's always someone around to share a laugh or go to the library with to get that knowledge. To many, Phoenix might seem a madhouse, but madness has no method.
Seriously though, Pheonix Haus is home to 29 beauts in 11 singles and 9 dobules. There are four floors, so many common areas, couches on couhces on couches, and plenty of space to be both studious or spontaneous. Every wall is a canvas. Even though it is the biggest coop in the good 'ol SHC, the task master makes sure all house jobs are done to keep this house a home.
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Who's Piloting This Thing??? President: Matt "Monkey-Cat" Aoun Handy Man: Joe "Devil Stick Juggler" Faski Shekel Monitor: Mia "Beautifully Maned" Dubois Membership: Syd "SBS Famous" Burke Education: Danielle "Stick" Elle Board: Zach "Taller than You" Ary
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VESTA Vesta is located at 505 M.A.C. and is currently home to twenty-two residents and four cats. Cooking together, studying with one another and hanging out around the house facilitates a culture of freedom and acceptance that all Vestian’s share. Many instruments can be heard on the weekends giving the home a jazzy atmosphere and lending a unique individuality to Vesta. Are you interested in joining our community next year? We have a total of fourteen singles and four doubles and have house meals twice a week. If not the beautiful murals, spacious common room or musical charm, the residents of Vesta are sure to welcome you into this house named after Roman mythology’s goddess of hearth, home and family.
Via former Ferencian, Laura Drotar:
The Pine Press is a publication of the Student Housing Cooperative, Inc. All inquiries can be directed to pinepress@msu.coop