PINE PRESS AUGUST 2020
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE MSU SHC EDUCATION COMMITTEE
PINE PRESS AUGUST 2020
Letter from the Editor Hello member-owners! I am so excited to bring you this month’s Pine Press. The first PP of the new contract year! I want to send out a warm welcome to all the new members - I hope you are all settling in and finding yourselves at home. It is my job as Vice President of Education to keep our members informed on important goings-on in our co-op. That’s the main goal of every Pine Press: member education. I hope this month’s edition will bring you some new information! Aside from member education, another element of co-op life that’s important to me is member engagement. As such, I would like to highlight some current opportunities for getting involved in the SHC: ★ Liberation Collective is a subcommittee of the Education committee that is focused on diverse engagement and anti oppressive education in our community. The next meeting is TODAY, the 28th of August, at 1pm. Here is the link to join: https://meet.google.com/dpa-dkhm-ztk ★ The COVID Response Team is a group of members and leadership who are creating protocol for and planning the SHC’s response to the current public health crisis as it relates to our co-op. You can reach out to this group with concerns or to get involved by emailing covidteam@msu.coop ★ Green Team is an effort captained by Casey Paskus, our Climate Resilience and Development Americorps VISTA, and its goal is to empower our members to live greener and more sustainable lives. The meetings are every Thursday, and you can email paskusca@msu.coop for more information. ★ The Facilitated Book Discussion taking place at 4pm on the 31st of August is an opportunity for those who participated in the book exchange to chat about their thoughts and ideas related to the books they read. Here is the link to join: https://meet.google.com/kvc-nviq-oxw ★ Board meetings are almost always open for general membership to attend, and it is highly encouraged to sit in. The next board meeting will be on the 14th of September. You can email president@msu.coop for more information.
As you can tell, lots of ways to get involved right now! Maybe one of these is for you :) Member involvement is what keeps our co-op going. We’d love to have you. Stay cool, Emily Tyler, Vice President of Education
PINE PRESS AUGUST 2020
HAUS LUV Compiled by Kiran Lantrip of Raft Hill Orion Dylan- thanks for being u and I can’t wait to get silly with u Miss u bb - snickers Jilly - happy bday cutie patootie Phoenix Devon - (heart emoji) thank you for being an irl angel and taking care of everyone in the haus we appreciate you!!! Bowie To everyone leaving this August — Aaron, Alyssa, Frankie, Gillian, Nick, and Trevor — we will miss you forever. You've left an indelible mark upon this haus, and we will tell your stories for years to come. To Tom, we've always hated you and couldn't be more relieved that you're moving out. We would say it was nice knowing you, but let's just leave it at "farewell".
SOUNDS OF THE SHC Compiled by Kiran Lantrip of Raft Hill Thank you all for sending in your music recommendations for this month! Big shoutout to Harambee for coming through with a big bounty of beautiful recs. As usual, you can find the Spotify playlist linked here or on the Facebook page. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1p0WnksrYu2hyIXXFAhlnC?si=0bhHsqb-QIqse1RM pLVsLA Vesta Fruit Salad - The Wiggles "All you gotta be when you're 23 is yourself" by free cake for every creature! ‘Three Bedrooms In A Good Neighborhood’ by Death Grips Raft Hill TWRP, Nelward kon queso - mf doom; scumways - michael nau; private caller - skylar spence
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Phoenix How Blue Can You Get? - BB King Bower Under the Table, Fiona Apple, Fetch the Bold Cutters Howland The album For Ever by Jungle! Especially the track Casio Harambee Big Jesus-Shrimp, J Dilla-Won't Do, Massive Attack-Angel, Vinterriket-Gipfelpforte, Boards of Canada-1969, Flying Lotus-Massage Situation, Autechre-Windwind, Aphex Twin-Heliosphan, Jose James-Desire, Jeff Mills-The Bells, Total Science-Defcom 69, and Venetian Snares-Szamar Mada Bonus content: one person (or multiple? who can say) sent in a vast selection of shitposts, which you can expect me to do this again! :) find linked below. Don’t https://youtu.be/VKMw2it8dQY https://youtu.be/vDMwDT6BhhE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-K8LUJfUaA https://youtu.be/R0oVJRa_CBs https://youtu.be/OBqOAQ4btbU https://youtu.be/P-6wdXccIl4 https://youtu.be/yD2FSwTy2lw https://youtu.be/d27JKz4VW0A https://youtu.be/Hm1vElsMVGg https://youtu.be/IqN3V8H_MOY
GRACC BUYS A HOUSE! By Emily Tyler of Vesta As of the 31st of July 2020, GRACC, the Grand Rapids Area Community Co-op, closed on a loan from the MSU Federal Credit Union which the SHC cosigned. This loan allowed GRACC to purchase one of their houses, James Russell House, thus officially becoming cooperative homeowners! This is a big deal for our cooperative neighbors who, officially founded in 2012, are much younger than we are.
PINE PRESS AUGUST 2020
“Officially purchasing the James Russell house in Grand Rapids is the first step not only for GRACC growing as an organization, but proving to Grand Rapids residents that affordable housing options are both available and sustainable,” says Jaime Wise, our new Americorps VISTA who also works with GRACC. This was a great opportunity to act in line with Rochdale Principle number six, “Cooperation amongst cooperatives”. One of the big goals of the co-op movement is to expand, thereby providing further-reaching opportunities for equitable economic participation and community engagement, and ultimately, to make the world a better place.
James Russell House, 535 Fulton St, Grand Rapids, the property that GRACC was able to purchase with the MSUFCU loan.
SUSTAINABILITY SPOTLIGHT: GREEN TEAM MEMBER SCORES SHC DISCOUNT!!! By Casey Paskus of Bower Green Team members are making sustainable living even easier for members of the SHC! Ally Brown of Beal House initiated a partnership with Earth Hero, a company dedicated to bringing sustainable commerce into the mainstream. Earth Hero offers
PINE PRESS AUGUST 2020
affordable, sustainably-made products from companies known for being earth-friendly. Thanks to Ally, SHC members get a 10% discount on anything from reusable straws to baseball caps to laundry detergent if you use the discount code: SHC10 But wait, there’s more! When you shop on Earth Hero through our affiliate link, the SHC Green Team earns a commission that we will use to plan sustainability-related events throughout the semester! Click here to check out the Earth Hero website, and remember to enter the SHC coupon code at checkout. Interested in joining Ally and the rest of the Green Team? The SHC Green Team has weekly meetings every Thursday from 7-8pm. Email Casey Paskus at paskusca@msu.coop for details! Click here to join the meeting: https://meet.google.com/btn-yhwf-sjp?hs=122&authuser=0
WELCOME JAIME TO THE SHC TEAM! By Jaime Wise, Americorps VISTA
PINE PRESS AUGUST 2020
Jaime Wise is our newest Americorps VISTA working with us at the SHC, and she’ll be taking over Nola’s work while she is on her maternity leave. Here’s an introduction to Jaime: Jamie Wise is a repeat Americorps alum originally from Grand Rapids in Michigan. She has worked in poverty and homeless services since 2014, with an emphasis on the information systems that service providers require to meet the needs of their clients. Prior to 2014, Jamie graduated from Grand valley State University with a degree in writing; She worked for multiple nonprofits as a freelance content strategist, and participated in Grand Rapids' 'Code for Good' events, at the time called Give Camp Grand Rapids. In her spare time, Jamie enjoys writing, and can often be found hunched over her laptop in the wee hours of the morning. Her other hobbies include video games, knitting, and silent films.
COVID CORNER: A CHAT WITH HOLLY JO By Emily Tyler of Vesta I had the chance to talk to our Executive Director, holly jo Sparks, about what the SHC is doing in the face of the global health crisis caused by COVID-19. What has been the SHC's response to COVID? Immediately last March we started convening joint staff and executive committee meetings to review what things in code could be altered to provide relief for members of the SHC. We added a section to our website (http://www.msu.coop/covid-19) where we explained those processes of providing relief. And more recently, we’ve formed a COVID action team which is made of staff, executive committee members, and general members who are interested. We also have an ongoing financial relief committee, which is set up to receive applications from those experiencing economic hardship as a result of COVID, and then they grant either full or partial assessment based on applicant needs. What is the COVID Response team? Formed at the end of July, the COVID Response Team is comprised of staff, executive committee members, and members at large who are interested. Our work is focused on
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developing house level policies and protocols to recommend. Anyone who is interested is encouraged to reach out and join the team. What are these three documents in my email? They are all suggested policies for the house level. The SHC is mandating that each house has at least three policies to address COVID, and if they don’t develop those, the COVID team will provide default policies. The documents received in my 8/19/2020 email to all members are guidance for what the house policy needs to address, as well as a default policy. Currently, the COVID response team is asking all houses to “quaranteam”--that is, quarantine as a household--for the first 14 days of the contract period, and to report to the COVID team their agreed-on house policies by the 8th of September. If a house does not submit their policies and plans, the SHC will assume they are following the default recommended policies. The MSU SHC is not enforcing a unilateral plan, as we are hoping houses will make plans tailored to their specific needs. We hope that our members will take the initiative to create their plans suited to each house’s situation. If your house needs any support in creating its policies, feel free to reach out to covidteam@msu.coop for recommendations or assistance.
BLM DONATIONS UPDATE By Emily Tyler of Vesta A little while ago, the Education Committee announced that they would be matching up to $3,000 of donations made to organizations surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement. As of right now, the SHC has matched donations from Apollo, Vesta, Bower, Orion, Phoenix, Rivendell, Raft Hill, and Beal. These houses have together donated a total of $2,040.07! Those donations have been matched by the SHC Education Committee, meaning that our co-op community has donated a total of $4,080.14! Here’s where these donations went: ★ NAACP Detroit Branch: $100 ★ MI Liberation: $601
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★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
National Lawyers Guild Detroit and Michigan Chapter: $100 Movement for Black Lives: $250 Detroit BLM Protestor Medical Relief Fund: $100 Michigan Solidarity Bail Fund: $200 Black Lives Matter Lansing AKA Liberation PAC: $387 Marsha P Johnson Institute: $100 Detroit Justice Center: $152.07 ERACCE: $50
The SHC is matching up to $3,000 total in donations, so that means that we can still match $959.93 to meet that goal. So keep those donations a-comin’!
WAIT, THERE WAS A TOWN HALL?
Yes there was! A record number of THREE PEOPLE ATTENDED! You are cordially invited to the next one, Tuesday 29 September 2020 @7:30pm This is your chance to speak face to face (virtually) with your executive committee members about any comments, questions or concerns you may have. Here is the link to join the next one: https://meet.google.com/uvw-cuir-hrs
thx 4 reading!!!
PINE PRESS AUGUST 2020
541 E Grand River Ste 4 (517).355.8313 Especially On Wednesdays EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE PRESIDENT - ERIK BERG president@msu.coop VICE PRESIDENT OF FACILITIES - NIKKI PHAN facilities@msu.coop VICE PRESIDENT OF EDUCATION - EMILY TYLER education@msu.coop VICE PRESIDENT OF MEMBERSHIP - LEAH ROGERS vpmembership@msu.coop CORPORATE TREASURER - SHYLA CRUMP treasurer@msu.coop STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - HOLLY JO SPARKS exdir@msu.coop MEMBER SERVICES COORDINATOR - NOLA WARNER msc@msu.coop
FINANCE COOPERATOR - MC ROTHHORN financemanager@msu.coop MAINTENANCE COORDINATOR - DAN TOOMAN maintenancecoordinator@msu.coop AMERICORPS VISTAS CLIMATE RESILIENCY - CASEY PASKUS paskusca@msu.coop MEMBER RELATIONS & MANAGEMENT - JAIME WISE jwise@msu.coop