February 2025 Pine Press

Pi n

s e s r P e

February 25'

must listen albums from Japanese alt artists Number girl - School Girl Distortional Addict slacker rock. 79,901 monthly listeners Fukuoka, Fukuoka

I believe that this is the best j-rock album ever made.

I quite simply adore it. everything about it is perfect. It sounds like skateboarding on a brigt day with a cool breeze, like youthful summer nights with friends. I cant say enough good things about it. Go listen to it!

Tricot - T h e vocal mathrock. 155,500 monthly listeners kyoto, kyoto The best mathrock tends to come from japan. And tricot is just one of the endless examples of this fact.

otoboke beaver - corpos de agua Punk 68,442 monthly listeners kyoto, kyoto

I think otoboke is the best active punk band in the world maybe. Their music is packed to the brim with energy and their live performance is even more so. i aspire to have half the energy as the guitarist when i play.

toe - A book about my idol plot on a vague anxiety post rock, math rock. 255,584 monthly listeners tokyo, .kanto

A book about, is the album that gets a lot of people into mathrock and is one you’ll find on almost every top mathrock album lists. And I get it, but I think their follow up to this album is a bit better. So check this out, soak it in, then go listen to that.

arigarnon friends- boy to man sparkle punk, emo 4,161 monthly listeners Tokyo, kanto

This is such a fun little ep! I love Japanese emo because it supplants the western emo tradition of melancholy, and reappropriates the instrumental tradition with whimsy and joy

List by vpe MacKenzie of Orion. if you have a suggestion send it my way!

Hi chat, my name is Chris. I’m Vesta’s Education Officer and likely the best Smash Ultimate player in the SHC. I like to meow at strangers on the internet, but I’m too shy to do it in person like my housemates do. I guess I could try doing it through the Pine Press just this once-- meow.

(That’s a rare treat only for you guys.) arcade arcade run? run? money money match? match? msg me if u wanna lose bitch lmfaooo

have have you you seen seen me me around? around?

Being an Education Officer is fun. I like learning new things. I moved in during Summer ‘24 and started in the Fall, so I’m I’m still still kinda kinda new new to to the the co-ops, co-ops, but my house says I’ve done a good job so that’s cool! Some even say I’m one of the best we’ve had in a while (thanks guys i try :3).

It can be really frustrating when your job is to educate others while being the one of the LEAST LEAST educated people in your house. It took a lot of legwork and boring conversations to figure what exactly was going on here. I’ve really just reached a place where I feel like I’m good at it.

I’m quite fortunate to literally live with the VPM. I spend a lot of time fucking around in the SHC office with him and being Player 2. I’m I’m an an indoor indoor cat, cat, but I enjoy my lil enrichment time running errands with my housemates.

Uhh anyways, the point of this was just for me to figure out how much effort it would take to write a journal entry for the Pine Press. Lowkey we were supposed to be creating content for the ‘zine and I’ve been wondering what I really cared to talk about. Hopefully just a regular ol’ blog will suffice.

To conclude I guess, I hope you guys will find some comfort in my lil updates.

This will largely pertain to SHC things and my growth and understanding within this community. But uh I also play hella video games (fighters are my fav, and II can can destroy destroy a a DDR DDR machine machine), make a lot of music (chiptune jazz fusion type shit), and watch hella anime (Evangelion, Serial Experiments Lain, Ergo Proxy are some favs). I plan on expanding this into something greater in the near future, so stay tuned and GLHF ♥

Yo chat, I’m back!

How was your spring break? Hopefully you all got some time to rest and recover from this semester. I’m a senior so this is my last one (if all goes well!) I’m really looking forward to getting this over with, honestly. As much as I love learning new things and meeting interesting people, I’ve had enough of MSU, East Lansing, and education as an instutition in general. It has been a looooong 5 years.

And I’ve still got my Master’s to do. Ugh. My break? It was alright. Very isolated and reflective. I think I needed a moment like this, and I appreciated the opportunity to remind myself of what is important to me. I visited home and attempted to make plans with old friends only to realize that they had grown up and began lives of their own. I stayed at home with family, but they’ve got work so I really only saw them later in the evening for dinner. The rest of my time?

Alone, catching up on homework and chilling with my pet dog.

If I had to set a purpose or theme for this month’s entry, it would be solitude. Now that I’m understanding more about cooperative life, myself, my relationships both platonic and romantic... I am truly beginning to understand the value of individuality.

I used to get really bent out of shape about the idea that I may never fit in with others or find my person. Beyond that, I was scared to even TRY. I always felt like I was bothering others by reaching out to them-taking up their personal time with my pitiful plea for connection. Sometimes I still feel that way. However, I’ve begun to understand and appreciate the necessity of distance from others. We will never be truly one, fully knowing of each other. But I can still love you and you can still love me. When the time is right, we will find us.

Until then, GLHF from Chris and Yogi ♥

The Golden Broom With

VPF VPF Eric Eric

It has been more than a year since I found out what the Golden Broom was. Back when I was a Board Rep, I was looking over some data that is given to all members of the SHC, and I heard mention of the Golden Broom. Being the instigator I am, I sought to find out what this event was. Turns out we stopped doing the Golden Broom several years ago, mainly due to COVID. Before I was VPF, I really wanted to bring it back, so I asked the Membership Committee, which was led by former VPM Riley. Very sadly, it was late in their term, so it didn’t become an event. So when I became the VPF, the Golden Broom was one of the projects I wanted to bring back. The Golden Broom is under the Membership Committee, though VPM AJ had enough on his plate, so I was more than happy to adopt it as part of the Facilities Committee, spearheaded by the VPF. And you know what? It was a success!

Golden Broom 2025 1st Beal 89.3% 2nd Ferency 85.8% 3rd Howland 83.7% 4th Hedrick 83.5% 5th All Nations 78.6% 6th New Community 74% 7th Bower 73.9% 8th Apollo 72.8% 8th Phoenix 72.8% 9th Raft Hill 72.6% Apollos Kithen during the Golden Broom Apollos Kitchen (The last time we did Golden Broom)

Golden Broom 2018 1st Beal 92% 2nd Bowie 79% 3rd Miles Davis 74% 4th Raft Hill 68% 5th Howland 68% 6th Apollo 63% 7th Ferency 59% 8th Vesta 48% 9th Orion 47% 10th New Community 26% Bower’s Pine Press Stand

Beal’s sunroom

Hedrick’s basement living room

My Remarks

New Communities living area

The work you all put into your houses was special, and the injustice lies in the there only being three winners a given year. If I were to run again as VPF or if I were to help in the future with the Golden Broom it would be beneficial for everyone if there were no winners and losers, all of us together make up the SHC. The Golden Broom will still be a cash received event, but to find a way to make it work for everyone is the next great project. The Real Takeaway, you all did work, and the houses are better for it. This event was a mile's stone in making the SHC a better place to live, and you should take pride with the work you did and continue to do. I mean to say Thank You All, I’ve wanted to get this done for so long and not only did we do it, but you all went above my expectations. On my side of the SHC I don’t get good news, so seeing the photos, hearing your praises from the judges, I’m really proud of you all.

DRAGOGENESIS

By Gavin Trew

The fire crackled, billowed by gusts of mountain wind. Sparks scattered in the wake of the flame, bouncing over the chipped shale of the ridge where the company had set up camp.

Nearby, a soldier stirred a simmering pot of stew, the lines of his face as hard and sharp as the scree he knelt upon.

​

Lars lay propped against a small boulder, wrists bound, and stared into the center of the

glowing coals, hypnotized by the shifting patterns of orange and black. He was reminded of the harvest season: the rows and rows of hearty grain, ready to be reaped; the deep, cool nights spent sleeping on the edge of the field every other day; the heat of the hearth as Autumn came to an end, snow sealing them inside.

​

That was last year, before Tyrni’mir died, rivers of its black blood scorching through the

foothills where it was slain. Before the Order of Crimson Saints had turned its bones, scales and horns into trophies of war, decorating the throne room. Before lesser monsters had spilled forth from cracked earth, all fear lost without the sweeping shadow of the dragon keeping them underground. Before the neighboring empires, held at bay only by an extremely territorial beast of myth, had marched inland, hungry for conquest.

Acrid smoke and blackened bones. Lars flinched at the thought, felt his breath catch and squeezed his eyes shut, forcing mastery over himself. When he opened them, the soldier was looking at him with disdain.

“Quit sniveling,” the shadowy helmet said. “Or you lose your blanket.” Lars shivered, knowing the chill of altitude would be worse without the dirty, scratchy quilt. He thought about asking the soldier once more where they were going. The bruises on his ribs discouraged him.

Turning away from the fire, Lars looked out along the plain of rock and rubble surrounding him, dotted with tents and horses. It stretched another hundred meters, gradually sloping up into the mighty Mount Mir, backlit by the moon, its peak piercing a solitary cloud.

The scene looked frozen in place, like that same cloud, that same waxing gibbous, had been there since the beginning of time. Eternal.

Lars let his gaze flow down the side of the mountain, tracing ridge after ridge in the moonlight until he was back on his plain, his shadow stretching out. The craggy ground, coupled with the shifting light from the fire, made it look like his shadow was trying to run. I don’t blame you. He wished he had tried, himself.

He remembered the knock that had come at his door, as he and Sam had huddled in the dark kitchen, armed with farming implements. Peering out through the boarded window, trying to see who was on their stoop, he’d only managed to make out dark clothing and a floating light.

He remembered cracking open the door cautiously, and beholding the withered, wizened crone on their doorstep. She’d stood silently, face hidden in black robes, necklaces of pumice and quartz draped across her shoulders, skeletal fingers clutching a walking stick that was nearly twice as tall as her. A lantern hung from its knobbled top end, and an acrid stench wafted from the burning wick. One hand bore a tattoo: a seven-pointed star.

“What is it? Do you need shelter?” Lars had whispered, glancing around. The forest was quiet. For now. “You aren’t traveling, are you? Come, get inside-”

“The forge must be fed.” The crone had spoken these words with finality, her voice sonorous, hoarse yet rich. Ashen. Lars had startled at the volume, fearing it would attract monsters.

“You will be the kindling, Lars Erthand,” she had continued, paying him no heed. “So that all you hold dear will live on.

“Face your fate.” she intoned. “Persevere. You will prevail.” Lars had started to ask what she meant, but the crone merely turned away, walking so smoothly she may as well have been floating. In another minute, she was lost to the thickening twilight.

The next morning, the soldiers had come, and Lars and Sam had known they’d missed their chance to escape.

The fire started to die, ashes crumbling into the shale as icy wind overcame the coals.

Lars’ appointed warden checked the restraints before trudging away toward his tent. Lars shivered again, and as mountain gales threatened to whip his meager shelter away from him, he curled up and dreamt of home.

—

The soldiers packed up briskly before dawn the next morning, military training not in vain. Tents collapsed into tight bundles of poles and canvas, and horses, freshly unhobbled, were loaded with gear. As the camp disappeared, the company assembled in a marching order column, curving gently around the largest tent, and waited.

Nearly an hour later, as the sun finally dripped free of the horizon, the King emerged. His gaze roved, gaunt and haughty, surveying the waiting soldiers, their horses stomping their hooves impatiently.

“What are you all standing around for?” the King drawled. “I want us at the peak by sundown. Get to it.” His gray hair, unkempt and oily, trailed from beneath his crown. The coronet sparkled in the weak light, newly dressed with small, rounded dragon scales. Their sheen was well-polished, but inky stains remained around the rounded roots.

As the nearest men set about disassembling his massive tent, the King walked haltingly across the shale to a tall, thin mare harnessed in purple trappings, his oversized armor clanking with each step. With some help from a stepladder, he climbed into the saddle, and turned his steed northward. Lars was jerked into motion, his restraints bound to his warden’s horse.

As the day went on, a storm brewed, clouds looming from behind the mass of the mountain. The wind calmed for a few hours, and then, as the sun dove into the looming thunderheads, picked back up with a vengeance. Lars blinked furiously against swirling dust as the soldiers pressed on, held above the worst of it by their mounts.

They were five kilometers from the peak when the stormclouds opened onto them. Fierce gusts whipped at them, rain and sleet cutting into cloth and stinging skin. Pebbles and stray rocks, dislodged by the wind and accelerated down the mountain with the help of gravity, blinded horses and dented armor. Still they struggled onward, Lars barely managing to keep moving by hanging on to the tow-rope for dear life, fearing with each step that the lightning shaking the clouds above would find him next.

At long last, they crested a final ridge, and found themselves staring down the mouth of a great arch carved directly into the stone. The party hurried in and paused to recover, their number reduced by a fifth.

“Forget the detritus,” the King coughed, hair tangled up in his own headpiece. “Forge on.”

The group trekked onward, into the mountain. The passage was huge, easily fifty meters tall and perhaps twice as wide, forming a near-perfect half-circle burrowing into the depths of Mount Mir. Torches, unlit, graced the walls at regular intervals, and the soldiers managed to spark a few of them alight. As they went, Lars gave thanks for the sturdy stone ground, his knees raw from so many spills on the shale.

“Halt!” called the forward line. Lars raised his weary head, and had to keep raising it, slack jawed in awe at the scene before them.

Enormous doors, cut into a flat face of rock, stretched from floor to ceiling. They were only about half the width of the tunnel, but hewn in incredible detail, depicting titanic wings,

massive curling tails, and colossal skulls, their eye sockets inlaid with rubies. On a signal from the King, the party dismounted and approached, hushed in reverence.

“Get it open,” the King commanded, staying in the saddle. Teams of men twenty strong assembled at each door, and began to heave against them. Bit by bit, they slid ajar, nearly silent on their hinges. The party filed through once the gap was wide enough for the King’s horse.

A gargantuan chamber greeted them, cool and dry and dark as pitch, the entire space hewn of glittering obsidian. Thick columns radiated from the center, each one taller than the last, to match an upward-sloping ceiling. The light from the torches refracted and reflected off every surface, filling the room with scattered specks of orange and white. Rather than dispelling the gloom, it cast strange shadows that flickered and wavered, like countless bestial silhouettes were pacing within the stone. Perhaps that was why the King’s mount balked as they got closer to the hub of the spoking columns.

In the very center, the roof opened upward, forming a vertical shaft just as large as the tunnel that led them here. On the ground beneath, cut into the black stone floor and inlaid with bright white quartz, a massive circle grazed each of the innermost columns. Within it was a similarly carved seven-pointed star, with a small raised platform in the center. Above them, the moon peered in, revealing the upward shaft as an opening straight to the outside. At the edge of the outermost circle, the party stopped, and the King moved to the front, still upon his horse. He barked an order at the nearest soldier, and they walked forward cautiously to inspect the dais, upon which a small object sat.

“What is it, there in the middle?” the King asked.

“A knife, sir,” the soldier replied. Lars felt his heart clench as the King turned cold eyes upon him.

“It would appear your moment has come.” He nodded at Lars’ warden, and Lars was cut loose, then pushed forward. He stumbled, glancing back one last time at the King.

“Your majesty…what am I meant to do?” he asked, voice tight. The King looked down at him with disgust.

“You are to end your life on that dais.” He said it so matter-of-factly that Lars took a few seconds to register the full import of his words.

“...Why?” he asked, reeling.

“Our holy kingdom is under siege, you wretch.” The King spat the words, moving his steed toward Lars. “If we are to preserve the divine right, we need something that can beat back our assailants, return the hordes to their dens. We need another dragon.” He paused. “I was told the soul of a human ‘born and beloved of this land’ was the key to bringing forth a second beast.

The Royal Magicians selected you, by name.

“They were quite insistent you must do the deed yourself. So, take the knife,” he sneered, eyes hardening. “And fulfill your purpose.”

Lars looked around the circle of iron helmets, desperate. Then, he turned and walked forward, closer to the glinting dais. As he went, he again remembered the old crone, her tattoo etched into his mind just as it was etched in her skin.

The forge must be fed. Her words echoed in his ears. What had she known? And how? He stopped in front of the dais, a black metal hilt sticking out of the rock. A smoldering feeling began churning within him.

You will be the kindling, Lars Erthand. [She had smelled of brimstone, he realized.]

Gripping the hilt, he pulled free a blade of blued steel. The metal was ice cold to the touch.

Maybe that was why his hand was shaking.

We forge on. [The King’s impatient croak filtered back to him, and >-<] The smoldering sensation grew. Why him? Why must he die, that the man behind him could clutch to a crown coated in blood-stained keratin? Divine right? What Chosen of God killed those he was meant to protect?

So that all you hold dear will live on. Lars thought of Sam. The despair and frustration ebbed, undercut by a smooth, gentle glow. Dear, darling Sam. Alone in the house. Surrounded by a forest full of death. If their home was to be saved…he must do this.

Face your fate. He removed his coat, then his shirt, and felt along his chest, searching for a gap between his ribs. The knife felt warmer now, his body heat seeping into the metal.

Persevere. He gripped the knife in both hands, feeling his heartbeat in both palms, and set the tip gently against his skin.

Persevere. For his family, and the land that fed him.

Persevere. For home.

For Sam.

You will prevail. Lars closed his eyes, and plunged the blade deep.

It took three beats of his heart for him to realize it was still pumping. He opened his eyes, earning a round of gasps from the company.

The knife was buried in him, only the hilt visible. Yet, there was no pain. As he knelt there, shocked, he felt the bittersweet warmth within him, born of his final thoughts, grow stronger. Much stronger. As he stood, still reeling, he saw his chest begin to glow from within, ribs outlined against the burning light. With each passing moment the mysterious energy grew, flowing away from the knife and into his extremities. The King stared, eyes wide, and the soldiers backed away a step or two, the small act of fear saving their lives.

Flame erupted from the border of the carved circle, surrounding Lars in a ring of fire that stretched all the way to the distant ceiling. He whirled, his wound forgotten, mind blank with panic.

"Well done, Lars." A voice issued from behind him. Lars spun in place again, almost losing his balance. A tall woman, clad in leather armor and a soft white caftan, stood before him, exactly where the knife had been embedded. She radiated heat, her eyes like fresh coals, her skin the color and texture of scoria. Of scales. Light shimmered around her head like a solar corona, and Lars knelt on instinct.

"Who are you?" Lars managed, dazed.

"I? Why, I am Tyrn." the woman said, eyes sparking. “Though you may know me by the name Tyrni’mir.”

"Tyrni'mir the dragon?" Lars gasped, before realizing the inanity of such a statement. But the woman only laughed, an eminent, powerful sound that settled in his veins like molten gold.

"Yes. The dragon. Once, I stood where you now stand, in service of king and country.

Mostly country," she smirked, and Lars' eyes widened.

"You were human once?"

“I was. As was my predecessor. And his predecessor. And their predecessors. Centuries of us. All made the ultimate sacrifice in service of protecting that which we love. We became legend.” She smiled, and the flames surrounding them grew ever more intense. “We became Miri'kin."

More figures winked into existence. A strapping man in knights armor. A slim individual in priest's garb. Two old women, hands clasped, dressed in noblesse attire. More and more of them appeared, before turning into wisps of flame, encircling Lars. The heat in his chest grew again, the air shimmering around him. The knife slid out of its own accord, guided neatly into the slot he had taken it from by the whirling wind, and as the wound closed he felt power soak into his bones.

"We stand against all threats to our home,” Tyrni’mir said, pacing closer. “We patrol the borders. We chase the intruders back to their dens, be they man, monster, or both.”

The smell of brimstone wafted over Lars as she loomed, sparks falling from her mouth.

“We are more than human, more than beasts. We are gods.” She cast a single, baleful glance in the direction of the King, hidden by the towering inferno. “We are jealous gods.” She looked down at him. “Do you understand what you must do?”

Lars barely heard her, his thoughts as dense and hot as a bonfire. He could only look up at her and nod.

“Good,” Tyrni’mir whispered, her figure fading into smoke. “Very good indeed.”

"Arise, brave child," her voice echoed in his ears. "Go forth, filled with flame, and remind those who would harm your home: today, you are reborn. Today, you are made Miri'kin."

Lars' mind filled with orange and black, chasing each other in a spiraling dance. He breathed deep, the air scorching his throat, and felt an ignition in his chest.

His body began to burn away, cruel talons piercing through his fingertips, billowing wings breaking free of his back. His snout and teeth sharpened, his eyes blazed, and his brow sprouted mighty horns. As he grew, the circling fire grew with him, expanding outward in a vortex of intensifying energy.

With a pyroclastic roar, Larsi’mir dispelled the cocoon, sending slivers of flame arcing through the chamber, filling the space with light for the first time. The slivers engulfed fleeing soldiers, lit torches, and cut through the King’s horse, sending the divine right sprawling across the floor. As he struggled to rise again, burdened by his armor, Larsi’mir approached, striding with four tree-size limbs.

“No…no!” The King gasped for air, crown missing, eyes bulging. “I did what they said, I brought the sacrifice! How dare you bite at the hand of your holy lord!”

Lord? The words boomed through the air, the dragon's thoughts made manifest within the old man's mind, dripping with venom. Lord of what? What do you rule? You cherish nothing but your tyranny. You protect nothing but your royalty, your false divinity. Larsi’mir’s head rose up on a serpentine neck, horns scraping the ceiling. He looked down upon the King with irises the color of sunset. You sent me to die for your own gain. There can be no error in retribution.

“Sent you to…?” Comprehension dawned on aged features. “Dear God…forgive me!”

Finding new strength, he flung himself prostrate before Larsi’mir. “Please! I knew only what I was told, I did what I must!”

Yet you falter only now. The searchlight gaze narrowed. When your cruelty bears its consequences.

“Please!” The King clasped his hands. “I beg you!” The dragon fell silent, and the man felt a glimmer of hope, only, in the next moment, to see a rising glow within the breast of the towering leviathan. Its eyes narrowed further, sunset orange deepening to blood red.

Kings. Do not. BEG.

A white-hot blast reduced the pathetic man to ash and molten metal, splattered in a starburst across the floor. Larsi’mir returned to the center of the room and spread his wings, beating the air and rising into the vertical shaft on a powerful thermal.

Outside, heavy clouds flowed over steaming golden scales, and the dragon directed his gaze toward the distant candle-lights of citizens, monsters, and invaders alike.

The congregation. Heretics. Non-believers.

It was time to tend to the flock.

Surprise – Salad! Our Invasive Species Adventure by the Rivendell Writing Team Of the many types of beneficial cooperative behavior our species is known for, food production is perhaps the oldest and among the most important. As anyone who has ever done it solo knows, gardens require a ton of time to plan, prepare, plant, and pull the many weeds that can appear before you get to the producing part. Invasive species are pernicious pests that if not found and eradicated early in the planting season can be a major ongoing pain in the back. This article is a brief photographic chronicle of our coordinated response efforts when we found a patch of garlic mustard that was threatening to invade our back garden last spring.

First, however, here’s our 2024 garden plan. This part of gardening should ideally start waaay before planting season begins and could be the subject of many articles in itself. Rivendell has a number of separate gardening areas, the largest being in the back on vacant land we are leasing from the adjacent property owner. Note the Remove Garlic Mustard item on our to-do list, which we now proceed to.

Here’s the accursed patch next to our back garden. Luckily we got to it just as it was beginning to flower and before it went to seed. Had it done so it would have completely taken over the entire area and become an ongoing weeding nightmare.

Our coordinated cooperative response efforts underway. This would have been a quite lengthy and exhausting task to tackle for one person. Many hands make light work, as they say!

The first end result of our efforts: the garlic mustard is gone. During the operation we removed all these black plastic trays set in the ground. Now we have more usable space to expand our garden into!

The second end result of our efforts: a meal of sauteed garlic mustard! The general consensus was that it tasted rather like bitter spinach and wasn’t all that good. We later discovered that it is meant to be eaten before it goes to flower in order to get that intended flavor of garlic and mustard.

We hope you enjoyed this little journey through one of our gardening projects this year and that all of you find inspiration for your own gardening and invasive plant removal efforts

SCAN HERE TO FOLLOW THE SOUNDS OF THE SHC PLAYLIST!

UPDATES EVERY MONTH WHEN I DELIVER THE PINE PRESS! SORRY NO APPLE MUSIC, I TRIED MAKING AN APPLE ID TO MAKE IT AND ALMOST CRIED.

Pinecones! bathroom fixing/cleaning warriors of Orion, especially James !!! - Emily, Orion pinecones to avie bc i love her :3 - sammie, phoenix Pinecones to James for helping me when I was sick, to harper for being the best bandmate and friend I could ask for, Myron for the great convo prompts and to AJ for being that fuckin guy fr MacKenzie, Orion would like to send my love to the ladies of bower <3 we dance, we laugh, we yell, we drink, and we live in this house 2gether LOVE YALL!! - krystal from bower Pinecones to all of Boiler Room, and special extra kisses and pinecones for Chris, AJ, and Angie Cas from Vesta (the besta) Pinecones to my house besties (Via, Peyton, Sofi, Maddie) and to Tomas for the spanish and movies - Emma, Bowie I wuv my Hausmates, they awe my fwiends:3 - Gavin, Orion Haus Pinecones for all the work everyone did for Golden Broom! - Rachel, beal Jonathan for all the late-night cigarettes, VPE Mackenzie for helping make SHC First-Aid training happen! - Daniel Schoenherr, Bower PINECONES TO LOGAN FROM RAFT! thank you for going with us to the capitol! - Avie, Phoenix :3 Shout out to all the beal babes for all you do to make our haus a home - Lily, beal To Mackenzie for the good literature for the houses, Eva and Lliam for hanging out, Samm K for using the touree tracker sheet, Bower for letting me go to their brunch -Clay, Phoenix Shoutout hedroidians for cleaning up the house REAL nice!

🧼🧽 - Yousif, Hedrick

Ashton and Daniel: Thanks for help with Bower pizza night, it wouldn't happen without your help Onyx- Bower Gavin: for conquering the many atrocities of mermaid bath. Chad: thanks for replacing the water filter - Divya, Orion AJ, Niko, and Ang for coming thru and giving me rides to work when my fuCKING CAR BROKE DOWN. - Chris, vesta

Lliam for planning the Super Bowl party, he and the others really stepped up in the face of a difficult postseason. He also took it like a champ every time his favorite player (Patrick Mahomes) threw an interception, so proud of him! - Jake, Phoenix Thank you to my housemates at raft for helping me and cleaning when I sprained my ankle. Love you guys! - Loren from raft chris, you have been my rock! love ya conner, you are the realist and my ultimate homie :33 cullen, literally I am so happy you moved into vesta, and I am excited to make memories with you in new orleans georgia, I literally love you so much and you are CUNT - AJ, Vesta Pinecones to all of vesta for our work week even though we didnt win golden broom - Angie, Vesta Ryan (Raft) - Thank you for returning from Utah so I could be humbled in smash - Conner, Raft Hill HOWLANDERS!!! I'm really fortunate to live in a house with these amazing people - Eric, Howland pinecones to eli, sammy, & collin for sitcom behavior!!

💋 - Mylee rain, Phoenix

Pinecones to Bower for an amazing bday darty and potluck! - Jonathan of Phoenix To my housemates that hang out in the kitchen. Always improves my day :) Reed is a housemate I didn't expect to be as close to as I am now, and does really cool work for the Young Communists League! - Fish, Bowie

sounds of the SHC Banana Pancakes - Jack Johnson - Elliot P., Phoenix Haus Something Else - Sex Pistols - Emily, Orion Country mac and carrion by Arent We Amphibians (I love them so much!!!) - MacKenzie LAST SPLASH -The Breeders, I've only met one person who knoes the breeders - sammie, phoenix anything that dj fat jimmy plays on his computer - krystal from bower CATFISH- Doechii - Cas from Vesta (the besta) I've Fallen And I Can't Get Up - You Know Who! - Emma, Bowie Thoughts and prayers - black dresses - Regan, phoenix Day of Fate (Metal Version) by Jonathan Young - Gavin, Orion Haus Desert Sessions!!! - Daniel Schoenherr, Bower Precious by Esperanza Spalding has been on repeat - Rachael, vesta baby’s coming back by jellyfish!!!! - Avie, Phoenix :3 Bisexual Problems by Deli Boe, Ukulele Anthem by Amanda Palmer -Clay, Phoenix Crybaby - Destroy Boys - Yousif, Hedrick Samt Und Stein by Velvet Condom - Onyx- Bower Mona Lisa - Lil Wayne, Kendrick Lamar - Divya, Orion Defy Gravity from Wicked, I don’t know how that one happened either - Jake, Phoenix I'm Black Y'all - CB4 (happy BHM!

🖤), Love No Limit -- Mary J. Blige - Teah, New Comm

Did it on'em -Nicki Minaj - Loren from raft

Go with the flow- queens of the Stone Age - Anon See you again - Sacred Souls - Angie, Vesta Vampire in the Corner - Magdalena Bay - Conner, Raft Hill swingin party-the replacements - Mylee rain, Phoenix The Hotline Miami Soundtrack - Jonathan of Phoenix in your love- tyler childers - camilla, howland the Nirvana song where he talks about his grandma - James, Orion (sliver! - MacK) Swag Money Mixtape 1 by MikkerJ - Fish, Bowie

Any new year's resolutions? (have you kept up with it?

Drink more water (I got a UTI) - anon Make new friends - I made 2 today :) - Gwen, Orion i wanted to walk more places and generally get more steps in, i’ve done well so far but not every day is perfect - Emily, Orion Play guitar everyday (my guitar broke 5 days into it) and play drums at least three times a week. I stuck with the drums and now that my guitar is fixed (thank you harper) I have been again! MacKenzie, Orion to stop making that damn noise (i didnt) - sammie, phoenix my new year’s resolution was to buy more yoga pants… i have not bought more yoga pants. - krystal from bower My new years resolution is to pursue more balance, and i"m working on it every day - Cas from Vesta (the besta) I've been running more! Hopefully it gets easier as we make it into the springtime… - Anon I told myself to have more me-time and I totally stuck with it! - Emma, Bowie I’ve tried to keep up with swimming more - Ethan (Orion) Taking my classes seriously and ahahaha fuck no - Regan, phoenix I started having a really good year and forgot my resolutions. Progress? - Gavin, Orion Haus Running, I have not kept up but now that I know about the shc 5k I’ll be practicing

💪 - Rachel, beal

I'm successfully getting off my ass more but my ass does not like it - Daniel Schoenherr, Bower Trying to be on my phone less and use my brain. I’ve been better than I was before but there is still much improvement to be made - Rachael, vesta

be as positive as possible

💪💪💪 - Avie, Phoenix :3

I am trying to stay more present and definitely been trying: some helpful things have been journaling - Lily, beal Take things slowly - Clay, Phoenix To not write 24 on a date, so far so good - Jake, Phoenix

🤡 - Teah, New Comm Drinking more water, lol no. - Loren from raft Be nice to my one cousin that really sucks (i’m doing well so far but he won’t stop sending me horribly unfunny Twitter posts) - Anon get my homework done and turned in on time! which I have kept up with lowkey - AJ, Vesta didn't make any, winter should be the time of rest not change, but I have started to do 10 min yoga in the morning and i'm enjoying it! - Angie, Vesta Lose weight, I'm down 8 pounds. I swim 5 hours a weekend. - Eric, Howland witness less horrors (no) - Mylee rain, Phoenix Going to the pool once a week - Nina, Howland

Naw - Jonathan of Phoenix I realized that I repeatedly do this thing where I am around someone I kind of know, and I think "oh I shouldn't talk to them they wouldn't like that", and then afterwards I think "oh my god why didn't I talk to them that was so rude". So my resolution was to stop doing that. I think I still do sometimes but it's a lot better. - James, Orion Practice my spanish every day, and yes! - Fish, Bowie

2024 outs, 2025 ins Out: situationships In: Partying - anon Out: High screen time, not stretching. In: Reading, stretching, cooking new food. - Gwen, Orion Out: hawk tuah. i’d rather play in oncoming traffic than have to hear anything more about it. IN: trying to discover new music interests every month - Emily, Orion

Out: Vaping, fear of expression, vegetarianism In: purple rice, Veganism, monochromatic outfits and Brown clothes. - MacKenzie, Orion

Out: cringe and men and tiktok trends. IN: minions and putting stickers on everything - sammie, phoenix

Out:texting him back. In:BEING IN THE SHC 5K ON APRIL 19TH - krystal from bower Out: blacking out from too much drinking (sorry howland). In: sharing when things make me uncomfortable instead of holding it in - Cas from Vesta (the besta)

In: Love - Anon Out:Trash men. In: Good Sleep Schedule, New Relationships, Independence, Crochet - Emma, Bowie

Out: Taking my classes seriously and ahahaha fuck no. In: Reading, whiskey sours, eating men alive bones and all, sewing, shitty movies, slutpop - Regan, phoenix

Out: My virginity (typical process). In: My virginity (I will reclaim it via trial by combat). - Gavin, Orion Haus

Out: Procrastination

👀 In: Giving yourself grace and finding time to relax - Rachel, beal

Out: TABI SHOES. they're the ugliest shoe and I will die on this hill. In: just doing the damn thing rebecca, Howland

Out: Getting high b4 bed. In: Dread - Daniel Schoenherr, Bower

Out: smirnoff In: board games with friends - Rachael, vesta Out:poor communication In: WHIMSYYYYY WHISMY and joy!!!! - Avie, Phoenix :3 Out: Worrying over things I can’t control/ have no control over In: Being prepared in lesson plans, living in the now, taking things day by day, opening the door for people who don’t want to be in my life - Lily, beal

In: Got two new jobs since December - Clay, Phoenix Out: poppi and 8ams In: nutella and costco and tj maxx - eva, Howland Out: diet coke, fast fashion, vaping. In: savory cocktails, crafts, blue cheese - Shelby, Beal Out: sobriety - Yousif, Hedrick Out: tiktok. In: Being a kind person - Divya, Orion Out: C02 In:02 - Jake, Phoenix Out: Pettiness and passive aggressiveness that borderlines bullying. In: Apologies with follow through - Teah, New Comm

Out: Constipation and cherry flavored things. In: Sweaters with flowers, flossing your teeth and beetles - Loren from raft

Out: T-SHIRT AND JEANS AT THE FUCKING BARRRRRRR. In: capris, big ass boots, 80s music, HUGE HAIR - Angie, Vesta

Out:Jimmy Carter - Conner, Raft Hill Out: doom scrolling In: improving dad lore - Eric, Howland Out: euthanasia & spiders In: handwritten letters & mischief - Mylee rain, Phoenix Out:binge drinking In: Pipe smoking - Jonathan of Phoenix Out: doom scrolling, forgetting to be grateful, Jimmy Johns IN: Intentionally keeping in touch with your friends, making pizza with homemade dough (semi-homemade okay but it is not that much harder than prepared dough or frozen pizza and it's so good), outlandish outfits - James, Orion

Out: Judging people's worth based on their looks, expecting perfection from anything, pretending hater nature is anything but cowardice In: Enjoying every piece of a moment you can, more ice cream, cooking more, loving - Fish, Bowie

What are you looking forward to in the spring?

I saved up this summer and am taking a trip to Switzerland for spring break with my best friend :) Gwen, Orion Planting some flowers - River, Harambee Spring Break Trip! - Elliot P., Phoenix Haus Playing guitar outside and dressing like I'm in the little house on the prairie. - MacKenzie, Orion regular depression >>> seasonal depression, all the crew club stuff coming up - Emily, Orion Windows open everyday - sammie, phoenix miniskirts and wearing more blue and SEQUINS - krystal from bower Songbirds and everything being green again - Cas from Vesta (the besta) I look forward to house parties and bonding with house peeps - Emma, Bowie People chilling outside again - Ethan (Orion) Spring break, warm weather, short skirts - Regan, phoenix Sunshine, athletics competitions, and GRADUATING BAYBEE RAAAAHHH - Gavin, Orion Haus Sunshine and spring flowers (trilliums!!) - Rachel, beal backpacking/going outside and not becoming a popsicle - Daniel Schoenherr, Bower Smoking a jernt on the perch!!! - Rachael, vesta CEDAR POINT OPENING BACK UP MAY 10 YAYYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYY

🎢🎢🎢🎢🎡🎡🎡🎠🎠🎠🎠🍦🍦🍦 - Avie, Phoenix :3 Finishing up student teaching! And having a lil ceremony for my getting my teaching certificate - Lily, beal getting to go back to work full time - eva, Howland sunshine and happiness - Shelby, Beal Warmer weather! - Yousif, Hedrick TOP SURGERY!!!!!! - Onyx- Bower Not having constant dry skin - Divya, Orion finding a nice gf god please - Chris, vesta Phoenix Haus invades Gatlinburg! - Jake, Phoenix Not having to wear my coat anymore -_- - Teah, New Comm Graduation - Loren from raft Warmth & walks & park days with the Hedrick homies - Anon I am looking forward to smelling the fresh dirt and watching the world bloom again. I find that the smell of dirt can make me so happy or excited that frankly I want to shove my face into the dirt #leonardbernsteinquote - AJ, Vesta RIDING SEASON (sorry all houses on MAC i will be tormenting u with my loud ass bike) - Angie, Vesta (I thought u were coming out as a horse person at first - Mack) Return of Wine Wednesday on Raft's porch - Conner, Raft Hill 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓢𝓮𝓪 - Eric, Howland vitamin D & loitering!! - Mylee rain, Phoenix Reading on the porch - Nina, Howland Gardening!!!!! - Jonathan of Phoenix being able to comfortably hang out outside. smoking on side porch and going on walks!!!! - James, Orion

Seeing the green again, wearing flowy clothes, camping - Fish, Bowie

Wait!

Before you compost that tea bag, Remove the staple!

Staples are not organic matter, so they cant go in the compost bin You shouldn’t put the tag in either.......

If i catch ya, ill report you to the compost czar!

Thanks for reading!

Looking for community events, support groups, and educational trainings for LGBTQIA+ people?

Check out the

408 S Washington Square, Lansing

Support Groups

Monthly Events

Transmasc Support Group Transfem Support Group T.R.U.E. For young people exploring their gender identity/sexual orientation QTBIPOC Community Space Queer Lansing AA Vintage Pride 45+ For older adults Nonbinary Support Group Queer Women’s Support Group

Gayme Night Fiber Arts for Everyone TTRPG Gayme Night Write Here 4 Queer (writing workshop) Sex Ed for Everyone (educational group with a different topic each month)

FInd their event calendar, resources, and info about volunteering at saluscenter.org! In addition, If there’s a group you’d like to start at the center, you can reach out to info@saluscenter.org

MARCH 17TH 2025

Facilities Committee

Highlights The Mother of All Facilities Commitee Meetings

BY VPF Eric Saunders

The VPF Eric has been slacking with giving Golden Broom winners their cash prize. He’s meeting with Jimmy. It should be sent to your house's saving.

Eric is working on a way to make Maintenance Request be shown at Facilities Committee meetings so Facilities Officers know what the Maintenance Team has recived.

Eric and MC Zach made a budget for next year's Maintenance budget.

This was the longest meeting I’ve facilitated, but it was also the most beneficial meeting the Facilities Committee has had in years.

Starting with good news All Nations and the Shire now have all their keys documented in the SHC system. This is a major improvement because when these houses need new

Howland and Eric hosted the VPE and VPM Debate.

keys, the SHC will no longer have to purchase an entirely new lock, which could cost $40 or more. Instead, it will now cost only $2–$4 per key. Houses that have their keys documented are saving 90% on key and lock costs. We now have half of all house keys documented.

Now for the great news Bower applied for a PD grant to remodel their garden beds, a project that has been needed for years. The grant was approved for $1,041, leaving us with $3,959 in the PD grant budget until it refills in September.

The Facilities Committee also voted to remove policy 4.15.03, which required all SHC tools to be kept at Phoenix Haus. This policy had proven problematic in practice, and we had already developed better methods over the years, so it had not been enforced.

Keeping it in our code only caused confusion, so its removal was long overdue.

Lastly, the Facilities Committee voted to update Article X, Section 10.03.01, which previously required the VPF to conduct an Article X Maintenance inspection for all houses every month. Since it was impossible for the VPF to visit every house monthly during their term, the policy has been changed to require inspections annually instead.

Eric is working with VPM AJ to update the SHC Pet Policy making it a joint responsibility between VPM and VPF

Eric made policy to be voted on regarding Fire Safety Violations, which we have to follow by law.

The policy doesn’t place all violations to Facilities Officers, we didn’t vote because of time

LANSNG NDEPENDENT COMCS & ZNE FEST

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WHEN: SATURDAY, APRL 12TH 11:00AM - 5:00PM WHERE: REO TOWN MARKETPLACE ADMSSON: FREE!

Haiiiii :3 I’m Myron Ocansey, the current education officer at Orion, and I’m running for Vice President of Education this year. Nice to meet you all!

I’m a 4th year Urban & Regional Planning student at MSU, with a minor in International Development. Basically, that means I really like cities across the world, and I really like engaging with the people who live in them to make their lives better! (As for the boring stuff: I like drawing, writing poetry, learning about West African history, and being REALLY into fnaf.)

I’m interested in becoming the VPE because I love this community and I want to see it continuously thrive. I think the co-ops are a unique environment in that we fill the need for a “Missing Middle” in housing, and beyond that, cooperative living creates a space where residents can work together to meet their own needs and feel empowered to alter things to work best for them. I hope to cultivate this space and ensure that the co-ops continue to function and improve in service of its members well into the future.

I have a lot of experience with event organization and education. In my previous position with the New Student Orientation Office, I spent my time researching everything MSU; from resources, to events, to culture and anything in between. With this knowledge, I worked to create informative posts about life at MSU to ease new students’ worries about campus and get them excited to explore everything that MSU offers. I was the corny upperclassman hyping up incoming students and asking them not to leave the Breslin Center because commencement was boring as hell. If elected, I would love to bring this energy to New Member Orientation to help new members feel excited and ready for life in the co-ops.

Furthermore, my current job with the National Charrette Institute focuses almost exclusively on public engagement and facilitation processes. I get to help

communities explore the conflicts inherent to discussion and use discussion as a way to decide upon future improvements. I also teach people how to better engage with their communities to ensure everyone is heard. Both of these experiences have equipped me with the tools I believe will help me succeed as VPE. Particularly through my experience facilitating workshops on conflict, I want to aid members in navigating conflicts and disagreements in their houses.

There are a couple things I want to focus on in the position. First: ensuring we all have a clear direction for the future we want to work towards, as a cooperative community. I’ve heard through the grapevine that members want more purpose in our actions as a cooperative, and there are many good ideas about how to implement this change. However, it seems as though these ideas are voiced without actionable plans behind them. I believe that my experience as an event organizer and facilitator can help tremendously in this process. I’d like to begin by engaging members in a visioning process for both individual houses as well as the overall SHC, then work with officers in each house on a comprehensive implementation plan.

Second: I want to help in making the SHC a more diverse and inclusive space. I cannot state how thankful I am for the incredibly open-minded environment in the co-ops. In my two years of living at Orion, I got to do so many things I had always been scared of. I did a silly routine at my first Open Mic and started truly learning to sing at haus karaoke nights. I’ve been able to live as loudly queer and trans as I want where previous living situations didn’t afford the same freedom. Despite the diverse mindsets in the co-ops, I long for diverse cultures as well. Often I feel as if the part of me that needs to be in community with other black and brown people has been left behind. If I become VPE, I will fight to change this and make the co-ops more welcoming for everyone. I believe this change is possible, first through educating current co-opers on matters of prejudice and unconscious bias; the importance of education and respectful communication in making people feel welcome cannot be overstated.

Third: working towards food sovereignty. This is partially an excuse to work on my hyperfixation as a job :) That aside, the SHC has been reviewing our houses’ environmental impacts to ensure compliance with our goal of (a sustainable community). I’ve been working on this a bit within Orion through better composting practice and our Veggie Box subscription, but I want to continue and expand upon

that work as VPE. This would look like establishing deeper connections between houses to share knowledge and working closely with community-based organizations such as the Allen Neighborhood Center, MSU Extension, and the South Lansing Urban Gardens.

I believe that we need focus in such an uncertain time. Many of us are experiencing a lack of investment in the cooperative movement, in our continued education, and in the fight against the many interlocking systems that are pushing all of us down. We need to decide on a path forward that uplifts everyone, both in the SHC and in our surrounding urban community. But I can’t do it alone. Change starts with us, and it starts now by showing up and speaking out. We can only build a better community by speaking to each other-- luckily, I never shut up :).

With love, Myron Ocansey

Hi Co-opers!!

TL;DR: My Intentions as VPE ● Expand education on SHC history and cooperative ideals ● Increase combined efforts between cooperative organizations in the area ● Increase community outreach efforts to expand opportunity of membership ● Potential joint effort with MSU POE department for consent and sexual health education/advocacy activities ● Deputize education committee to more efficiently tackle specific issues ○ Sub-committees would include: ■ Diversity education, advocacy, and activities ■ SHC history, and cooperative organization education, outreach, and community service ■ Consent and safety training (sexual health, first aid, narcan, crisis responses, CPR, etc.)

■ Sustainability and climate education/advocacy ● This may provide the opportunity for joint efforts between the education committee and the green team.

My name is Onyx (he/him), and I am writing to express my intent to run for the position of VPE this spring. I currently live at Bower House and am a 3rd year Sociology major at MSU. I am extremely excited for the opportunity to help improve the Spartan Housing Cooperative and its impacts on the local community. This position interests me for many reasons, but the greatest is that I hold education to be one of the most crucial aspects of increasing diversity, understanding, safety, and inclusion. Working as an administrative assistant at the SHC office has given me insight into how the SHC runs, and aspects that could be improved in an effort to further cooperative ideals.

For a little bit of background, I am involved in undergraduate research within the MSU sociology department. I am currently involved in work regarding consent, sexual health, and sexuality/gender diversity. In addition, I have completed work regarding capitalist industrialization, mental health, and environmental degradation. As I finish up my last semester at MSU, I will be applying to PhD programs, with the hope of furthering research regarding either communal/cooperative organizations, or labor relations. I also work for the MSU Prevention, Outreach, and Education department where I lead sexual assault and relationship violence prevention workshops. This has given me plenty of experience in conflict mediation, meeting/project facilitation, and independent organization.

One of my main concerns as a candidate for VPE is to increase education regarding cooperative organizations as well as the history of the SHC itself. I genuinely believe that cooperative organizations, whether that is housing, food, or other resources, may be a solution to many social inequalities. By living and working cooperatively, we can support each other while increasing diversity, inclusion, and empathy for one another. I would also like to organize joint efforts/ community outreach events with other cooperative organizations in the Lansing area in order to increase the reach of our cooperative ideals. Another way to improve our systems in order to better support each other would be to establish more communication between our own organization and other housing cooperatives. Not only would this allow groups to learn from each other, it would strengthen solidarity in common goals and values during a time when community is extremely important.

In addition, my work for the MSU POE department and in research has led me to realize just how much of an issue sexual and relationship violence is in our local communities. As VPE, I would hope to provide more available resources for help and support for members within our community. In addition there may be the opportunity for joint efforts with the POE department in community engagement or educational opportunities.

Finally, while preparing for my campaign researching executive positions within the SHC, I have come to realize that there may need to be improvement on the systems themselves in order to more efficiently identify and accomplish goals. For example, the plans I have for the position of VPE can appear to be quite extensive. This is why I would hope to deputize the education committee. While still operating regular committee meetings, subgroups with specific focuses could help to expand our outreach and tackle more of the issues we are focused on. Ideas for subcommittees for specific efforts include: 1. Diversity education, activities, and advocacy 2. SHC history, and cooperative organization education, outreach, and community service 3. Consent and safety training (sexual health, first aid, narcan, crisis responses, CPR, etc.)

4. Sustainability and climate education/advocacy

a. This may provide the opportunity for joint efforts between the education committee and the green team.

Overall, I am excited for the opportunity to expand connections within our houses, and with our surrounding communities. I care deeply about the wellbeing of our community and its members and am willing to do what it takes to improve our systems, goals, and their impacts.

Please feel free to contact me with the info provided below, I would love to hear input on issues that you may have identified, and any suggestions for topics that should be addressed within the SHC. I love to receive feedback and suggestions in order to ensure that the needs of the community I would be serving are properly addressed.

Contact: 127 Whitehills Dr, East Lansing, MI, 48823 616-258-1369 onyxbromley@gmail.com

Introduction What’s good gamers, my name is Chris. I am currently the Education Officer at Vesta and have been living in the co-ops for just under a year. In my time as an officer I have seen many things. I have handled multiple house-level grievances including the expulsion of an uncooperative housemate, and even assisted other houses as they’ve navigated their own unfortunate circumstances. I have also spent a fair amount of time at the SHC office getting to know office and maintenance staff, our AmeriCorps volunteers, some members of Green Team, and EC (Executive Committee, not to be confused with EduCom). Through the fortunate circumstances of living with the current VPM and growing my relationships with other members of EC, I have been able to get an insider’s look into a lot of the operations of the SHC and a glimpse into the minds of our leadership. I believe that the combination of my fresh perspective being a relatively new co-oper, as well as the insights I have gained as a member of EduCom and in my professional/academic life as a macro-level social worker place me in a unique position to tackle some of the issues that have been expressed by the membership– or that I have personally observed.

Addressing Membership Concerns In particular, members have expressed feelings of being neglected by EC/Leadership. Members have reported grievance emails being ignored or not sufficiently handled, office space availability being inconsistent, and maintenance requests not being fulfilled in a timely manner. Alongside this, SHC governance events are not having strong attendance and membership is not actively engaged in the organization. Positive sentiment for the SHC as a whole is on the decline. Under my leadership, I will ensure that EduCom works to facilitate the quick, concise relay of information from EC/Leadership to the membership. Transparency between parties is essential to build trust and foster a sense of community and cooperation, and I believe it begins at the top. I intend to do this via monthly updates within the PinePress regarding EC communications. I also have proposals for a scheduling tool that allows members to know when the SHC office is available for use and will hopefully empower co-opers to feel comfortable in their rightful space and make use of the area for fun events.

Information Access and Preservation Towards the goal of empowering our membership, I also intend to help streamline access to important resources– particularly for new members.To help new members get their feet into the door, we need to be openly available to them. The SHC isn’t necessarily closed off, but we do not make it easy to get an understanding of what’s going on, which I believe is largely due to the lack of a centralized information hub. There is a HUGE barrier to entry for new members– who likely have no idea what a cooperative even is– due to information being spread across haus Wikis, collecting

dust in an old binder somewhere in the house, lost deep within a Discord channel, or gone with the loss of a previous housemate. To remedy this, I will continue to facilitate the expansion/maintenance of President James’ SHC Shared Drive, if not create one for each individual haus with the goal of increasing institutional memory and the preservation of individual haus culture– to be maintained by the haus’ respective Education Officer who at this time has no dedicated job besides attending meetings. I believe in the power within each house far more than I believe in “The SHC” itself to foster meaningful relationships. I believe that the alienation one may feel from the rest of the cooperative can largely be remedied by house-level participation, and I want EduCom/MemCom collaboratively to be the first line of defense.

The Path Forward EduCom’s current focus is on working with other local organizations for charity events and trainings. I have nothing against this and can see the value in partnering with other co-ops and organizations, which is still something I intend to work towards throughout my term. While extending our reach and supporting the local community is a goal of cooperatives, I feel our membership needs to be the first priority– we cannot pour from an empty glass. There is an abundance of resources that are not being utilized to their fullest extent due to the difficulty of accessing them. I will work to solidify the role of Education Officers as historians, scribes, bookkeepers– sages even. My goal is for each member of EduCom to at the very least know where to find a piece of knowledge if not be able to recite it themselves. I will personally facilitate this process as VPE. Together, EduCom will work on condensing SHC resources into digestible formats (succinct, committee-reviewed documents/presentations) within well-maintained online libraries (labeled folders within shared drives). In conclusion, my primary directive is to focus as many resources as possible on empowering our current membership through an emphasis on collective knowledge, top-down transparency, and frequent communication. I hope to make SHC information accessible, digestible, and easy to iterate upon for future officers. I believe that this process will elevate the membership of the SHC and help not only create a cooperative environment, but maintain and preserve it.

Thank you for your time and GLHF, Chris Marcum – Vesta Education Officer and 2025 VPE Candidate.

It’s your friend Emily (she/her pronouns) from Bowie house! I am graduating THIS SPRING with a degree in Social Work and minor in Human Behavior and Social Services. My whole existence revolves around the drive to help other humans along their journey of hardship through empathy and understanding, as I plan to become a therapist in the near future.

To ensure members grow, I plan to provide: ➔​ Workshops on safe house cleaning practices as well as laundry 101 ➔​ An educational guide for proper sanitation of houses. Additionally, providing training on how to better prevent illness in community housing. ➔​ After coop housing support: Provide education on how to buy a house or sublease an apartment ➔​ How to “adult” workshop: paying taxes, getting off your parents insurance, preparing for job interviews and whatever the community demands!!! ➔​ My full TIME and attention! I will have my degree by that time and I am taking a gap year from school!

Education meetings: ➔​ Meetings will not take place in the SHC office (I think the lights are too overstimulating).

Instead, they will be in a majority compromised (preferably comfortable) location. ➔​ I will use my educational background in organizing task groups to run meetings with purpose and efficiency, ensuring they are speedy and dont waste anyone's time!!! I respect your time! ➔​ Prodive the education committee a clear calendar of due dates, meeting location and times, and planned training well ahead of time. ➔​ Send out discord reminders for meetings and approaching pine press due dates ➔​ Hold time during bi weekly meetings for education officers to plan and work on their presentations for house meetings to ensure education is reaching every coop house What I bring new to the table that the SHC needs from a social work perspective: ➔​ Highly efficient data collection: with background education in collecting social statistics, I plan to hear as many voices of the SHC as possible to provide for the majority! ➔​ Provide suicide prevention training ➔​ Provide training aimed at helping neurodivergent folks manage cooking and cleaning. ➔​ I have connections and knowledge of many different community organizations and social workers. This is vital in obtaining free to low cost training and resources.

Pine press: ➔​ Use my camera to take photos of SHC events and be there to report and take quotes and interviews to include in a new pine press page that mocks a newspaper. ➔​ I also want to begin including SHC special talents sections spotlighting how cool our members are. I can take pictures of the activity and interview the person and include this in a column. ➔​ Interview SHC members in bands and write monthly stories that allow members to get to know more local bands, their upcoming plans, and post a copy of their social media and performance schedule. ➔​ The possibility of having an SHC year book. I am a professional photographer!

A.J. Schicht (989) 746-4623 | schichta@msu.edu February 24th, 2024 Spartan Housing Cooperative 541 E. Grand Rive Ave Suite 4 East Lansing, MI 48823

Hello, my fellow Co-opers!!

For those of you who may not be familiar with me, I am AJ Schicht! (I use he/they pronouns :3) I have had the privilege of being able to serve you all and make amazing memories along the way.

With my term as Vice President of Membership for the Spartan Housing Cooperative ending; I have had the opportunity to reflect upon the projects, communications and moments I have been fortunate enough to experience during my time in this position. (^ this is a pic of me loving on a kitty)

Being the Vice President of Membership for the Spartan Housing Cooperative has pushed me in ways that I did not anticipate and has brought out skills I did not know I possessed.

Because of these experiences, I would love to be able to continue this work as your Vice President of Membership for a second term to further build upon the work I have accomplished this year.

Before we get too far, I wanted to just take a moment to explain myself as well as my personal goals for this period of my life. I have lived in my current house, Vesta for about two years and have loved every second of it! I am currently in my third year of my degree in Music Education and take a lot of joy in listening, making and sharing music with everyone! I play the bassoon; saxophone and I am also studying German on the side. Outside of school, I also take deep interest in engaging with community learning, nature, and writing. If you see me, say hi! I would love to chat!

My Qualifications: -

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I have been a membership officer in my house before (Jan 24’ - May 24’).

I have served as the Vice President of Membership before (May 24’ – Present) o Experience with the conflict resolution system of the SHC. o I have worked with fellow members of the co-op to coordinate events both open to the general membership as well as house officers.

I have a strong understanding of SHC Governing Documents and Policy o I have crafted policy proposals both within my house, and for the broader SHC and submitted them for review by relevant parties. o I have been able to better contextualize certain pieces of code, allowing me to able to see how they are executed in real time or where revisions are needed.

I have a strong background in social engagement and empowerment.

o My educational background deals primarily in group facilitation, conflict management, adaptability, organization of individuals, session planning and empowerment.

My Goals for the 2025-2026 Term: -

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Further refine the dispute resolution process with a focus on conflict tracking and organization. An outline of my approach is found below. o Primary Goals for Project: § Elaborate on a current database regarding Dispute/Grievance management, ensuring organization and for record keeping. § Ensure members know when it is appropriate to pursue a formal Grievance and how to properly file it. § Ensure that standard procedures are accessible to the VPM, VPE or MSC to ensure a well-balanced and checked approach to Grievance Management.

• Through the form of elaborating on the SHC Shared Drive, Membership Committee Shared Drive, and VPM/VPE personal google drives.

• Ex. Interview templates, A New Grievance Report Google form, and a log of conflicts encountered with steps that were taken for that specific case. § Ensure that our homes remain as safe and healthy as possible. § To establish the scope of services that General Members want from those involved with Grievance Management.

Continue to offer opportunities to the general membership through planned events.

Strengthen ties with our community, East Lansing/Lansing and Beyond. o Through events, fundraisers and guest discussion sessions depending upon member input/interest. o Connecting Members with local artists/writers/wellness resources. o Collaborating with the Inter-Cooperative Council at Ann Arbor (ICC) to learn about the culture within their community.

Continue to provide experiences and events to the general membership: o SHC Yard Sales, SHC Field Day, Homecoming Parade involvement, East Lansing Pride. o Work with general members to decide upon what events are wanted. o Empower general members to organize, propose (if needed) and facilitate events of their own whilst doing so safely and with guidance if needed.

Thank you all for taking the time for reading this letter and thank you for letting me serve you in this role this past year. Being Vice President of Membership for the SHC is something that has changed the course of my life and life’s work. It would be an absolute honor to be able to serve you all again!

In Cooperation, AJ Schicht

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