February 2025 Pine Press by Spartan Housing Cooperative

P inePress

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

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. meow.

(That’s a rare treat only for you guys.)

arcade run? money match?

msg me if u wanna lose bitch lmfaooo

have you seen me around? have you seen me 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 still kinda new to the 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).

I’m still kinda new to the co-ops,

It can be really frustrating when your job is to educate others while being the one of the 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 an indoor cat, but I enjoy my lil enrichment time running errands with my housemates.

I’m an indoor cat,

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.

I can destroy a DDR machine

Serial Experiments Lain, LEAST

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 I can destroy a DDR 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 Eric VPF 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!

Apollos Kithen during the Golden Broom

My Remarks

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.

Beal’s sunroom

Hedrick’s basement living room

DRAGOGENESIS

ByGavinTrew

Thefirecrackled,billowedbygustsofmountainwind.Sparksscatteredinthewakeof theflame,bouncingoverthechippedshaleoftheridgewherethecompanyhadsetupcamp. Nearby,asoldierstirredasimmeringpotofstew,thelinesofhisfaceashardandsharpasthe screehekneltupon.

Larslayproppedagainstasmallboulder,wristsbound,andstaredintothecenterofthe glowingcoals,hypnotizedbytheshiftingpatternsoforangeandblack.Hewasremindedofthe harvestseason:therowsandrowsofheartygrain,readytobereaped;thedeep,coolnightsspent sleepingontheedgeofthefieldeveryotherday;theheatofthehearthasAutumncametoan end,snowsealingtheminside.

Thatwaslastyear,beforeTyrni’mirdied,riversofitsblackbloodscorchingthroughthe foothillswhereitwasslain.BeforetheOrderofCrimsonSaintshadturneditsbones,scalesand hornsintotrophiesofwar,decoratingthethroneroom.Beforelessermonstershadspilledforth fromcrackedearth,allfearlostwithoutthesweepingshadowofthedragonkeepingthem underground.Beforetheneighboringempires,heldatbayonlybyanextremelyterritorialbeast ofmyth,hadmarchedinland,hungryforconquest.

Acrid smoke and blackened bones.Larsflinchedatthethought,felthisbreathcatchand squeezedhiseyesshut,forcingmasteryoverhimself.Whenheopenedthem,thesoldierwas lookingathimwithdisdain.

“Quitsniveling,”theshadowyhelmetsaid.“Oryouloseyourblanket.”Larsshivered, knowingthechillofaltitudewouldbeworsewithoutthedirty,scratchyquilt.Hethoughtabout askingthesoldieroncemorewheretheyweregoing.Thebruisesonhisribsdiscouragedhim.

Turningawayfromthefire,Larslookedoutalongtheplainofrockandrubble surroundinghim,dottedwithtentsandhorses.Itstretchedanotherhundredmeters,gradually slopingupintothemightyMountMir,backlitbythemoon,itspeakpiercingasolitarycloud.

Thescenelookedfrozeninplace,likethatsamecloud,thatsamewaxinggibbous,hadbeenthere sincethebeginningoftime. Eternal.

Larslethisgazeflowdownthesideofthemountain,tracingridgeafterridgeinthe moonlightuntilhewasbackonhisplain,hisshadowstretchingout.Thecraggyground,coupled withtheshiftinglightfromthefire,madeitlooklikehisshadowwastryingtorun. I don’t blame you. Hewishedhehadtried,himself.

Herememberedtheknockthathadcomeathisdoor,asheandSamhadhuddledinthe darkkitchen,armedwithfarmingimplements.Peeringoutthroughtheboardedwindow,trying toseewhowasontheirstoop,he’donlymanagedtomakeoutdarkclothingandafloatinglight.

Herememberedcrackingopenthedoorcautiously,andbeholdingthewithered,wizenedcrone ontheirdoorstep.She’dstoodsilently,facehiddeninblackrobes,necklacesofpumiceand quartzdrapedacrosshershoulders,skeletalfingersclutchingawalkingstickthatwasnearly twiceastallasher.Alanternhungfromitsknobbledtopend,andanacridstenchwaftedfrom theburningwick.Onehandboreatattoo:aseven-pointedstar.

“Whatisit?Doyouneedshelter?”Larshadwhispered,glancingaround.Theforestwas quiet. For now. “Youaren’ttraveling,areyou?Come,getinside-”

“Theforgemustbefed.”Thecronehadspokenthesewordswithfinality,hervoice sonorous,hoarseyetrich. Ashen.Larshadstartledatthevolume,fearingitwouldattract monsters.

“Youwillbethekindling,LarsErthand,”shehadcontinued,payinghimnoheed.“So thatallyouholddearwillliveon.

“Faceyourfate.”sheintoned.“Persevere.Youwillprevail.”Larshadstartedtoaskwhat shemeant,butthecronemerelyturnedaway,walkingsosmoothlyshemayaswellhavebeen floating.Inanotherminute,shewaslosttothethickeningtwilight.

Thenextmorning,thesoldiershadcome,andLarsandSamhadknownthey’dmissed theirchancetoescape.

Thefirestartedtodie,ashescrumblingintotheshaleasicywindovercamethecoals. Lars’appointedwardencheckedtherestraintsbeforetrudgingawaytowardhistent.Lars shiveredagain,andasmountaingalesthreatenedtowhiphismeagershelterawayfromhim,he curledupanddreamtofhome.

Thesoldierspackedupbrisklybeforedawnthenextmorning,militarytrainingnotin vain.Tentscollapsedintotightbundlesofpolesandcanvas,andhorses,freshlyunhobbled,were loadedwithgear Asthecampdisappeared,thecompanyassembledinamarchingordercolumn, curvinggentlyaroundthelargesttent,andwaited.

Nearlyanhourlater,asthesunfinallydrippedfreeofthehorizon,theKingemerged.His gazeroved,gauntandhaughty,surveyingthewaitingsoldiers,theirhorsesstompingtheirhooves impatiently.

“Whatareyouallstandingaroundfor?”theKingdrawled.“Iwantusatthepeakby sundown.Gettoit.”Hisgrayhair,unkemptandoily,trailedfrombeneathhiscrown.The coronetsparkledintheweaklight,newlydressedwithsmall,roundeddragonscales.Theirsheen waswell-polished,butinkystainsremainedaroundtheroundedroots.

Asthenearestmensetaboutdisassemblinghismassivetent,theKingwalkedhaltingly acrosstheshaletoatall,thinmareharnessedinpurpletrappings,hisoversizedarmorclanking witheachstep.Withsomehelpfromastepladder,heclimbedintothesaddle,andturnedhis steednorthward.Larswasjerkedintomotion,hisrestraintsboundtohiswarden’shorse.

Asthedaywenton,astormbrewed,cloudsloomingfrombehindthemassofthe mountain.Thewindcalmedforafewhours,andthen,asthesundoveintothelooming thunderheads,pickedbackupwithavengeance.Larsblinkedfuriouslyagainstswirlingdustas thesoldierspressedon,heldabovetheworstofitbytheirmounts.

Theywerefivekilometersfromthepeakwhenthestormcloudsopenedontothem.Fierce gustswhippedatthem,rainandsleetcuttingintoclothandstingingskin.Pebblesandstray rocks,dislodgedbythewindandaccelerateddownthemountainwiththehelpofgravity, blindedhorsesanddentedarmor Stilltheystruggledonward,Larsbarelymanagingtokeep movingbyhangingontothetow-ropefordearlife,fearingwitheachstepthatthelightning shakingthecloudsabovewouldfindhimnext.

Atlonglast,theycrestedafinalridge,andfoundthemselvesstaringdownthemouthofa greatarchcarveddirectlyintothestone.Thepartyhurriedinandpausedtorecover,theirnumber reducedbyafifth.

“Forgetthedetritus,”theKingcoughed,hairtangledupinhisownheadpiece.“Forge on.”

Thegrouptrekkedonward,intothemountain.Thepassagewashuge,easilyfiftymeters tallandperhapstwiceaswide,forminganear-perfecthalf-circleburrowingintothedepthsof MountMir.Torches,unlit,gracedthewallsatregularintervals,andthesoldiersmanagedto sparkafewofthemalight.Astheywent,Larsgavethanksforthesturdystoneground,hisknees rawfromsomanyspillsontheshale.

“Halt!”calledtheforwardline.Larsraisedhiswearyhead,andhadtokeepraisingit, slackjawedinaweatthescenebeforethem.

Enormousdoors,cutintoaflatfaceofrock,stretchedfromfloortoceiling.Theywere onlyabouthalfthewidthofthetunnel,buthewninincredibledetail,depictingtitanicwings,

massivecurlingtails,andcolossalskulls,theireyesocketsinlaidwithrubies.Onasignalfrom theKing,thepartydismountedandapproached,hushedinreverence.

“Getitopen,”theKingcommanded,stayinginthesaddle.Teamsofmentwentystrong assembledateachdoor,andbegantoheaveagainstthem.Bitbybit,theyslidajar,nearlysilent ontheirhinges.ThepartyfiledthroughoncethegapwaswideenoughfortheKing’shorse.

Agargantuanchambergreetedthem,coolanddryanddarkaspitch,theentirespace hewnofglitteringobsidian.Thickcolumnsradiatedfromthecenter,eachonetallerthanthelast, tomatchanupward-slopingceiling.Thelightfromthetorchesrefractedandreflectedoffevery surface,fillingtheroomwithscatteredspecksoforangeandwhite.Ratherthandispellingthe gloom,itcaststrangeshadowsthatflickeredandwavered,likecountlessbestialsilhouetteswere pacingwithinthestone.PerhapsthatwaswhytheKing’smountbalkedastheygotclosertothe hubofthespokingcolumns.

Intheverycenter,theroofopenedupward,formingaverticalshaftjustaslargeasthe tunnelthatledthemhere.Onthegroundbeneath,cutintotheblackstonefloorandinlaidwith brightwhitequartz,amassivecirclegrazedeachoftheinnermostcolumns.Withinitwasa similarlycarvedseven-pointedstar,withasmallraisedplatforminthecenter Abovethem,the moonpeeredin,revealingtheupwardshaftasanopeningstraighttotheoutside.Attheedgeof theoutermostcircle,thepartystopped,andtheKingmovedtothefront,stilluponhishorse.He barkedanorderatthenearestsoldier,andtheywalkedforwardcautiouslytoinspectthedais, uponwhichasmallobjectsat.

“Whatisit,thereinthemiddle?”theKingasked.

“Aknife,sir,”thesoldierreplied.LarsfelthisheartclenchastheKingturnedcoldeyes uponhim.

“Itwouldappearyourmomenthascome.”HenoddedatLars’warden,andLarswascut loose,thenpushedforward.Hestumbled,glancingbackonelasttimeattheKing.

“Yourmajesty…whatamImeanttodo?”heasked,voicetight.TheKinglookeddownat himwithdisgust.

“Youaretoendyourlifeonthatdais.”Hesaiditsomatter-of-factlythatLarstookafew secondstoregisterthefullimportofhiswords.

“...Why?”heasked,reeling.

“Ourholykingdomisundersiege,youwretch.”TheKingspatthewords,movinghis steedtowardLars.“Ifwearetopreservethedivineright,weneedsomethingthatcanbeatback ourassailants,returnthehordestotheirdens.Weneed another dragon.”Hepaused.“Iwastold thesoulofahuman‘bornandbelovedofthisland’wasthekeytobringingforthasecondbeast. TheRoyalMagiciansselectedyou, by name.

“Theywerequiteinsistentyoumustdothedeedyourself.So,taketheknife,”hesneered, eyeshardening.“Andfulfillyourpurpose.”

Larslookedaroundthecircleofironhelmets,desperate.Then,heturnedandwalked forward,closertotheglintingdais.Ashewent,heagainrememberedtheoldcrone,hertattoo etchedintohismindjustasitwasetchedinherskin.

The forge must be fed. Herwordsechoedinhisears.Whathadsheknown?Andhow?He stoppedinfrontofthedais,ablackmetalhiltstickingoutoftherock.Asmolderingfeeling beganchurningwithinhim.

You will be the kindling, Lars Erthand. [Shehadsmelledofbrimstone,herealized.] Grippingthehilt,hepulledfreeabladeofbluedsteel.Themetalwasicecoldtothetouch. Maybethatwaswhyhishandwasshaking.

We forge on. [TheKing’simpatientcroakfilteredbacktohim,and>-<]Thesmoldering sensationgrew.Whyhim?Whymusthedie,thatthemanbehindhimcouldclutchtoacrown coatedinblood-stainedkeratin?Divineright?WhatChosenofGodkilledthosehewasmeantto protect?

So that all you hold dear will live on. LarsthoughtofSam.Thedespairandfrustration ebbed,undercutbyasmooth,gentleglow.Dear,darlingSam.Aloneinthehouse.Surroundedby aforestfullofdeath.Iftheirhomewastobesaved…he must dothis.

Face your fate. Heremovedhiscoat,thenhisshirt,andfeltalonghischest,searchingfor agapbetweenhisribs.Theknifefeltwarmernow,hisbodyheatseepingintothemetal.

Persevere. Hegrippedtheknifeinbothhands,feelinghisheartbeatinbothpalms,andset thetipgentlyagainsthisskin.

Persevere. Forhisfamily,andthelandthatfedhim.

Persevere.Forhome.

ForSam.

You will prevail.Larsclosedhiseyes,andplungedthebladedeep.

Ittookthreebeatsofhisheartforhimtorealizeitwasstillpumping.Heopenedhiseyes, earningaroundofgaspsfromthecompany.

Theknifewasburiedinhim,onlythehiltvisible.Yet,therewasnopain.Asheknelt there,shocked,hefeltthebittersweetwarmthwithinhim,bornofhisfinalthoughts,grow stronger. Much stronger.Ashestood,stillreeling,hesawhischestbegintoglowfromwithin, ribsoutlinedagainsttheburninglight.Witheachpassingmomentthemysteriousenergygrew, flowingawayfromtheknifeandintohisextremities.TheKingstared,eyeswide,andthe soldiersbackedawayasteportwo,thesmallactoffearsavingtheirlives.

Flameeruptedfromtheborderofthecarvedcircle,surroundingLarsinaringoffirethat stretchedallthewaytothedistantceiling.Hewhirled,hiswoundforgotten,mindblankwith panic.

"Welldone,Lars."Avoiceissuedfrombehindhim.Larsspuninplaceagain,almost losinghisbalance.Atallwoman,cladinleatherarmorandasoftwhitecaftan,stoodbeforehim, exactlywheretheknifehadbeenembedded.Sheradiatedheat,hereyeslikefreshcoals,herskin thecolorandtextureofscoria. Of scales. Lightshimmeredaroundherheadlikeasolarcorona, andLarskneltoninstinct.

"Whoareyou?"Larsmanaged,dazed.

"I?Why,IamTyrn."thewomansaid,eyessparking.“Thoughyoumayknowmebythe nameTyrni’mir.”

"Tyrni'mirthedragon?"Larsgasped,beforerealizingtheinanityofsuchastatement.But thewomanonlylaughed,aneminent,powerfulsoundthatsettledinhisveinslikemoltengold.

"Yes.Thedragon.Once,Istoodwhereyounowstand,inserviceofkingandcountry Mostlycountry,"shesmirked,andLars'eyeswidened.

"Youwerehumanonce?"

“Iwas.Aswasmypredecessor Andhispredecessor Andtheirpredecessors.Centuries ofus.Allmadetheultimatesacrificeinserviceofprotectingthatwhichwelove.Webecame legend.”Shesmiled,andtheflamessurroundingthemgrewevermoreintense.“Webecame Miri'kin."

Morefigureswinkedintoexistence.Astrappingmaninknightsarmor.Aslimindividual inpriest'sgarb.Twooldwomen,handsclasped,dressedinnoblesseattire.Moreandmoreof themappeared,beforeturningintowispsofflame,encirclingLars.Theheatinhischestgrew again,theairshimmeringaroundhim.Theknifeslidoutofitsownaccord,guidedneatlyintothe slothehadtakenitfrombythewhirlingwind,andasthewoundclosedhefeltpowersoakinto hisbones.

"Westandagainstallthreatstoourhome,”Tyrni’mirsaid,pacingcloser.“Wepatrolthe borders.Wechasetheintrudersbacktotheirdens,betheyman,monster,orboth.”

ThesmellofbrimstonewaftedoverLarsassheloomed,sparksfallingfromhermouth. “Wearemorethanhuman,morethanbeasts.Weare gods.”Shecastasingle,balefulglancein thedirectionoftheKing,hiddenbythetoweringinferno.“Weare jealous gods.”Shelooked downathim.“Doyouunderstandwhatyoumustdo?”

Larsbarelyheardher,histhoughtsasdenseandhotasabonfire.Hecouldonlylookup atherandnod.

“Good,”Tyrni’mirwhispered,herfigurefadingintosmoke.“Verygoodindeed.”

"Arise,bravechild,"hervoiceechoedinhisears."Goforth,filledwithflame,and remindthosewhowouldharmyourhome:today,youarereborn.Today,youaremade Miri'kin."

Lars'mindfilledwithorangeandblack,chasingeachotherinaspiralingdance.He breatheddeep,theairscorchinghisthroat,andfeltanignitioninhischest.

Hisbodybegantoburnaway,crueltalonspiercingthroughhisfingertips,billowing wingsbreakingfreeofhisback.Hissnoutandteethsharpened,hiseyesblazed,andhisbrow sproutedmightyhorns.Ashegrew,thecirclingfiregrewwithhim,expandingoutwardina vortexofintensifyingenergy

Withapyroclasticroar,Larsi’mirdispelledthecocoon,sendingsliversofflamearcing throughthechamber,fillingthespacewithlightforthefirsttime.Thesliversengulfedfleeing soldiers,littorches,andcutthroughtheKing’shorse,sendingthedivinerightsprawlingacross thefloor.Ashestruggledtoriseagain,burdenedbyhisarmor,Larsi’mirapproached,striding withfourtree-sizelimbs.

“No…no!”TheKinggaspedforair,crownmissing,eyesbulging.“Ididwhattheysaid,I broughtthesacrifice!Howdareyoubiteatthehandofyourholylord!”

Lord? Thewordsboomedthroughtheair,thedragon'sthoughtsmademanifestwithinthe oldman'smind,drippingwithvenom. Lord of what? What do you rule? You cherish nothing but your tyranny You protect nothing but your royalty, your false divinity Larsi’mir’sheadroseup onaserpentineneck,hornsscrapingtheceiling.HelookeddownupontheKingwithirisesthe colorofsunset. You sent me to die for your own gain. There can be no error in retribution.

“Sent you to…?”Comprehensiondawnedonagedfeatures.“DearGod…forgiveme!” Findingnewstrength,heflunghimselfprostratebeforeLarsi’mir.“Please!IknewonlywhatI wastold,IdidwhatImust!”

Yet you falter only now. Thesearchlightgazenarrowed. When your cruelty bears its consequences.

“Please!”TheKingclaspedhishands.“I beg you!”Thedragonfellsilent,andtheman feltaglimmerofhope,only,inthenextmoment,toseearisingglowwithinthebreastofthe toweringleviathan.Itseyesnarrowedfurther,sunsetorangedeepeningtobloodred.

Kings. Do not. BEG.

Awhite-hotblastreducedthepatheticmantoashandmoltenmetal,splatteredina starburstacrossthefloor Larsi’mirreturnedtothecenteroftheroomandspreadhiswings, beatingtheairandrisingintotheverticalshaftonapowerfulthermal.

Outside,heavycloudsflowedoversteaminggoldenscales,andthedragondirectedhis gazetowardthedistantcandle-lightsofcitizens,monsters,andinvadersalike.

The congregation. Heretics. Non-believers.

Itwastimetotendtotheflock.

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

SCANHERETO FOLLOWTHE SOUNDSOFTHE SHCPLAYLIST!

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 frMacKenzie, 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 AngieCas 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 helpOnyx- 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 thingrebecca, 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

�� - 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! Wait!

Before you compost that Before you compost that tea bag, Remove the staple tea bag, Remove the staple

Thanks for reading! 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

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

Monthly Events

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

The VPF

Facilities Committee

Highlights

The Mother of All Facilities Commitee Meetings

BY VPF Eric Saunders

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 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 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.

Howland and Eric hosted the VPE and VPM Debate.

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

SATURDAY, APRL 12TH 11:00AM - 5:00PM

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

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!

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:

- 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:

- 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!

Cooperation,

AJ Schicht