PINE PRESS
JUNE 2020
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE SHC EDUCATION COMMITTEE
PINE PRESS JUNE 2020
Table of Contents
(pg. 1) N ote from the Editor (pg. 2) Haus Luv (pg. 3) The Deal with “Left Bower” (pg. 4) I nterview with an ICC-Ann Arbor Alum (pg. 6) The Man Behind the Curtain (pg. 9) Z ooming with Conspicuous Bystanders (pg. 14) Title IX Changes (pg. 15) Resources for Social Justice (pg. 16) Sounds of the SHC (pg. 17) Welcome, Dan! (pg. 18) Toad Lane x New Comm Greenhouse (og. 19) Upcoming SHC Events
Note from the Editor
It’s a pleasure to write to you again. Another month has gone by and now I’ve been your Vice President of Education for 57 days. It’s been an absolute joy so far to have moved into this position to serve our community! I find this job so fulfilling it’s almost unreal. One of the most exciting things I’ve been working on is the anti-oppression book exchange. The day you receive this Pine Press will also be the day I distribute books to those who signed up to participate! If you’re just now hearing about this, don’t worry about missing out - there will be two more rounds of exchange over the course of the summer. Here’s the schedule: Round 1: 26 June - 16 July Round 2: 17 July - 6 August (participation form due 16 July) Round 3: 7 - 28 August (participation form due 6 August)
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I also want to note that there will be opportunities for facilitated discussion about the books we read and what we learned on the last day of each round (16 July, 6 August, and 27 August @ 4pm). Another thing I’m really excited about is the upcoming virtual events that are open to all members. We have a Town Hall (30 June), a Title IX training (9 July), and an Anti-Oppression Dialogue (12 July) all coming up for you guys! I ran on a platform of increasing member engagement, and I’m happy to be able to deliver the membership with these opportunities for getting involved. I can’t write a letter to you guys without acknowledging the current climate of crisis our society finds itself in, due to both the ongoing pandemic and the topic of police brutality and the movement for Black lives. I recently attended a webinar put on by ACE (Association of Cooperative Educators) that was entitled “Crisis: Fertile Grounds for Cooperation.” The presenters discussed how cooperatives are resilient in times of crisis due to the humanist ethics and solidarity that are inherent in the cooperative model. What do I mean by that? Well, we exist for the mutual benefit of each other! That’s the whole point! A co-op’s resiliency in the face of crisis is also thanks to the fact that we are a values-driven enterprise that self perpetuates because of its principles and social aspects - we’re not just a business driven by capital. I’ll leave you with those thoughts and sign off. In cooperation and solidarity, Emily Tyler, Vice President of Education
Haus Luv
Gathered by Kiran Lantrip from Raft Hill Orion: Annika, thank you for suggesting a wine and cheese night! Lucas, thank you for cutting all the dank cheese. Luv u all, I had so much fun being a fancy adult with you! Howland: HUGE SHOUTOUT TO JENNY FOR KEEPING ME SANE AND STABLE THROUGH QUARANTINE!!! I know a lot of our hausmates admire your work ethics and ability to see things from everyone’s perspective. Such a kind, sweet, and caring soul that I hope realizes she’s so loved and adored <3 2
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Phoenix: Dear Josh, You have been a great friend and mentor to me this year. I am so glad I got to live with you! Phoenix will miss you next year. Vesta: Sam, you’re an amazing chef and a better friend Michelle - I'm so happy you moved in! You're a gr8 addition to our family :) (Vesta) to Andrea - you are a style ICON! I love the way you express yourself through what you wear. (VESTA) Bowie: Frankie!!! We all love you so much! Thank you for getting us through this pandemic! Sorry we all thought you were pregnant! (Bowie)
The Deal with “Left Bower”
By Mallory Bengry from Orion For those that don’t know, the SHC is pursuing a new house to add into the co-ops, known as “Left Bower.” This house is located next door to Bower, hence the name. Jim Jones, the MSU SHC founder, has headed this effort. Jim Jones lived in the co-ops when going to college in Ann Arbor. Later on in his life, he attended MSU for his masters program and sought out friends through pursuing the co-ops here. Once he eventually moved into Hedrick, Jones started trying to centralize the co-ops. He formed the East Lansing co-ops in 1969 and was our first president of the SHC. In order to pursue Left Bower, the SHC has had to first take out a $642,600 loan from MSUFCU. Next in the process, the SHC created a passthrough loan to the Grand Rapids Alliance of Cooperative Communities (GRACC), owned by Jim Jones and founded in 2011, for 75% of the value of their James Russell House. A passthrough loan in this case means that the SHC took out a loan to loan to the GRACC. The GRACC then used the money to buy the James Russell house from Jim Jones. Jim Jones, in turn, will use the money to buy 131 Whitehills, or “Left Bower,” and will become the landlord. The SHC president Erik Berg has created a deadline of May 31, 2021 to purchase the property. We are now in the steps of creating plans to convert this property into a functioning and thriving cooperative. Once this plan is in place, the SHC will hold a member referendum to determine whether to buy the property from Jim Jones. Until we get paid in full from the GRACC, the SHC holds the James Russell House as
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collateral. Assuming the referendum passes, we buy the apartment complex and convert it into a co-op. One might ask: why is the SHC making this decision? The goal of the co-ops is to continue expanding the community and the movement. With more cooperatives comes more spots in the organization. Out of the seven cooperative principles that exist, this decision pertains specifically to the sixth: cooperation among cooperatives; “cooperatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, national, regional, and international structures.”
Interview with an ICC-Ann Arbor Alum
By Emily Tyler and Miles Honey The Inter-Cooperative Council (ICC) in Ann Arbor are some of our nearest cooperative neighbors. I knew my sister’s friend Miles was a member of the ICC while she was attending Stamps at U of M, so I thought I’d reach out to her and hear what her co-op experience was like. Miles lived in Escher for three years. Here’s the interview! What was your favorite part of the co-op experience? Least favorite part? A lot of them are actually both—I loved living with such a huge group of different people, but it also made things difficult and stressful a lot of the time. Co-op culture is so great in some ways—at its best, everyone does their part and looks out for each other. But a lot of the time, especially in a house so big, opportunistic people who weren’t as committed to the cooperative ethos ended up taking advantage of those who were. This could mean anything from “accidental” food stealing and leaving messes for others to clean, to much more serious and dangerous problems. I know you lived in Escher, which isn’t the typical co-op house; how would you describe the difference between Escher life and life in a house? For anyone who hasn’t seen it, Escher basically looks like a very weird dorm. It’s shaped like a U with a grassy mound and fire pit in the center, and each of the nine suites has its own exterior door. Beyond that, it’s the only dorm on north campus (home of the engineering/computer science buildings as well as the art and music schools), so it’s largely a mix of people from those departments. It has more non-students, since it’s just harder to fill, so we can’t be as picky about who lives 4
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there—other co-op houses fill up fast, and often first-year residents have to have roommates, so Escher is sort of known as the only house where you can guarantee a single. Unfortunately, one of the biggest drawbacks of Escher is that a lot of people who live there are just there because they think of it as cheap and convenient housing. That can help to draw in a more diverse crowd, but it also means a lot of people who aren’t willing to respect or participate in the cooperative system that keeps the house functioning. But it has its good sides—Escher has a great social scene, and there’s always someone down to go sledding or drive to the thrift store, but since there’s so many people, it’s less conspicuous to be more reserved than at smaller houses where everyone is one big group. What was your chore system like? How did you organize labor and ensure things got done? It was pretty chaotic in general—our work manager was always the most exhausted person in the house at any given time. Meals and food/supply ordering were handled mostly by our chef, but for each meal there were 3 teams of workers—cook shift before, clean shift after, and meal prep in the middle of the night slicing lunch meat—plus grounds crew, tech team, house officers, and a handful of other positions I’m forgetting. Before I was an officer, I was consistently on a cook shift, and I would spend the entire time doing the day’s worth of dishes in the big industrial dish room. It couldn’t have been less like living in a regular house. We also had suite managers and suite chores (clean fridge, take out trash, etc) and hall chores (a bathroom clean signup sheet). How did house meetings work at Escher? Did you have them? House meetings were pretty optional, and I bet a lot of people never went to one once in their entire time at Escher. They were always held in each of the two big house dining rooms, and the meeting minutes after were always fun to read. Some of them could end up being hours long, if there was a particularly contentious proposal (someone always wanted to get rid of the panini press). In such a big “house” like Escher, what was social life like? How did you get to know your “housemates”? The first year I lived there, I barely talked to anyone, but I still caught onto the social dynamics. There’s always a core group of people organizing most of the activities, mainly people who live there for several years, plus a few more outgoing newcomers. They tend to make up a lot of the officer positions as well. In that way, it feels a little like how I’d imagine a smaller co-op—a central group of people who are both the most social and the most committed to things running smoothly. There are other people 5
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who come in and out of social life at the house, and then there are people who keep completely to themselves, often people working on dissertations or working jobs with odd hours. Of course there are also smaller social groups within that—sometimes one suite will be especially tight-knit, or there will be a group of exchange students from the same program who stick together at first, or just people with the same interests hanging out a lot. I liked Escher cuz I wanted friends, but I was never going to stay there for 16 years (and some people really do), so it was easy for me to participate as much as I wanted without feeling too obligated. The first winter I was there, I ended up at my suite’s Christmas party even though I didn’t talk to anyone until then. By the time I moved out, I was the Education Chair (which involves a lot of event planning at Escher), so I was a lot more involved. Except for 2019, NASCO Institute is held in Ann Arbor. Did you ever attend or get involved? If so, what was that experience like? I wasn’t as involved in the house when NASCO last happened there, but I remember a lot of people sleeping in the lounges and piles of guff condoms with the twin pines emblem on them lying around after. That was fun. What is your biggest take-away from your Ann Arbor co-op experience? It takes a lot to make cooperative living work, even when the ideals are good. Escher was working with a lot more resources and committed people than many similar setups, and we still had our fair share of struggles to make it work. I left with a lot of respect for the people who did that work—I was there for three years, and moved out with graduation (which coincided with quarantine anyway). Mini-Bio of Miles: I am a cartoonist and illustrator living in Detroit. I got my BFA from UM Stamps in 2020, and you can see my work if you like at amyfieldmouse.com
Presidential Column: The Man Behind the Curtain
By Erik Berg from Orion It’s a bit interesting, having a president who’s so keen on improving communication with the ownership, and yet he himself seems so quiet and obscure. Unless you’ve spent time in a board meeting or live on MAC, there’s a good chance you’ve never met me, seen me, spoken with me, or gotten to know what I’m like. 6
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There are two reasons for this: the peculiarity of my personality, and the peculiarity of the point in history we’ve found ourselves in. I hope I can demonstrate how interconnected both of these are, I can finally introduce myself to you all, and most importantly, I can get you thinking about some very important stuff. So, first and foremost… hello! I’m Erik! I live at Orion, like reading poetry and research on group equity housing cooperatives, and love playing the accordion and electric organ. I’ve now been the SHC President for two whole months, and just typing that out is a trip. Fate has certainly entrusted me to this role in a very interesting time. I can’t decide if the past eight weeks have flown by, or if it feels like it’s been ages. I honestly feel like time has ceased to have meaning to me. I started a spreadsheet to track how I spend my time beginning in May, and since becoming president I’ve spent an average of 77 hours a week doing work in this role. Workaholism has been my defining characteristic to my housemates for almost two years now—especially as it relates to my sleep schedule (or lack thereof), and my step to the presidency has only intensified this characteristic of mine. There’s two things people always wonder: (a) why I’m spending so much time on what I’m doing, and (b) just what the hell am I doing that takes up so much time?!? I like to answer the first question with a simple “because I’m an insane person.” And I think that may be true, to an extent. But I think a more sensible explanation is passion: I love what I’m doing. I love my house, my co-op, the concept of a cooperative enterprise, and doing whatever I can to help maintain and improve our co-op. The cooperative movement is an incredible thing that far too few have an awareness of, and the expansion of this movement is something I see as an absolute must for so many reasons, far too many to list out here. Now, what am I spending 70+ hours a week doing? Unfortunately that’s another list that’s far too long to fit in here, but a majority of this time is spent doing two very important things: reading and planning. I read so that I can learn from the past to plan for the future. Meeting minutes, house constitutions, reports, newsletters, research papers, and case studies from both our co-op and other co-ops worldwide are all avenues to learn how things have been done in the past, what works, what doesn’t work, and what can be done in the present to bring us closer to our potential. Remember: we sit in the shade of trees we didn’t plant. The problems we face today are not new. We’re facing the same problems today that similar co-ops are facing globally, and the same problems that we’ve been facing for 50 years. While history doesn’t exactly repeat, it does rhyme. Knowledge of the past is absolutely necessary if you’re going to tackle the issues of the present. There’s a saying I really like: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” I’m a careful planner, and I don’t think I can overstate how important the planning process is, especially to an organization like 7
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ours. I can say without any hesitation that the primary reason the SHC still exists today is through the careful planning and foresight of our forebearers. Planning is especially important in times of uncertainty. When I was planning my presidency this past winter, I did NOT plan on stepping into the role just as a global pandemic was reaching our households. I also didn’t plan on leading our organization as our nation simultaneously began to loudly protest police brutality and systemic racism in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. I had no way to foresee these exact circumstances, but I still planned for them. “What would happen if our houses saw massive vacancies?” “What if we saw a period of national unrest? How should the SHC respond?” were two of the hundreds of questions I explored. I’ll be honest: in both of these hypotheticals, I was picturing a second Vietnam, with a draft dragging our fellow co-opers to die on another continent and antiwar protests stateside. So, fate threw me a curveball, but my planning kept me reasonably prepared for these uncertainties. So, why am I going on about history and planning? Because those are the two most important things to our co-op right now. We are at a very critical point in our history: The SHC turns 50 next spring, but it isn’t just a temporal landmark that we’re approaching, it’s a new stage of life for the SHC. Over the past year, the Board and Executive Committee has begun a process of assessing the internal capacity of our organization, our external standing, what needs to be improved in both areas, how they can be improved, and using these considerations to kickstart a long range strategic plan for our co-op’s future. Let’s look back to 1971. The SHC as we know it came into existence when Hedrick (including its annex next door, now Ferency), Elsworth, Bower, and Motts (now Raft Hill) all donated their property to this organization and thus federalized under the new umbrella co-op. Why did they do this? To expand. To expand the cooperative movement and to expand the number of co-op houses in East Lansing. With their new collective financial strength, they were able to purchase 505 MAC (now Vesta) that same year, 501 MAC (now Orion) in 1973, a house on Bogue St. that would ultimately evolve into what’s now the House of Apollo on Harrison, and plenty of additional co-ops—too many to list here. Every household we have today that wasn’t one of these founding houses would not exist had it not been for this federalization. Even houses created externally to the SHC like Hillsdale (now Harambee), Beal, Howland, Rivendell, and The Shire: they were all “rescued” from financial and/or structural collapse by the SHC because the SHC was able to buy them out and save them from dying out. As we’ve grown and expanded, our cashflow has increased, our ability to upkeep our properties has increased, our quality of service has increased, and the number of people we’ve been able to provide quality, affordable housing and educational opportunities to has increased. This was the vision that guided our
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founders and galvanized our membership to get involved in the movement by working to make cooperative living an option in as many new houses as possible. We’ve lost a sense of that. Aside from the pre-existing co-ops mentioned earlier, the last new co-op house founded by the SHC was Phoenix in 1994. This is in spite of an ever-increasing demand for co-op housing that we’re currently not meeting. A handful of opportunities for expansion have been assessed since then, but none proved to be feasible. As time goes on, the real estate market becomes increasingly inhospitable to co-op development. But we’ve struck gold—we finally have an almost unbelievable opportunity to expand to a new property in the very near future… but more on that later. I’m happy to say that a tangible outline of this strategic plan is beginning to take shape. But, we cannot truly create a long-range plan for our co-op with just the input of the Board and Executives. We need the input of you: the member-owners. Several outreach methods will be used to gain this input from everyone, but the most notable will be a return of the semesterly Member Satisfaction Survey, which has not been conducted since Spring 2018. My hope is to send one out toward the end of the summer with an emphasis on strategic planning, and then return to sending out these surveys regularly—as our organization is supposed to. It’s true—I’ve been a quiet president. This is not the result of any absence, rather it is the result of plenty of hard work studying and preparing our co-op for its future and plenty of hard work managing our co-op in these times of uncertainty. As time goes on and our communication continues to improve, I hope you’ll see more of me and I’ll get to see more of you. - Erik Berg, President
Zooming with Conspicuous Bystanders
By Danny Olweean from Bowie Conspicuous Bystanders are a genre-bending Lansing-based band that has played countless co-op shows. Band Members Jenna (vocals), Emmet (Guitar), Duncan (Bass), and Zach (Drums) sat down with me (over Zoom) to discuss new material, influences, and genres. On your new single, “Hand in Hand,” you repeat the phrase “Conspicuous Bystanders.” What came first, the song or the band’s name? 9
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Jenna: The song definitely came after the band, though we were sitting on one of the hooks for a long time before finishing the song. Emmet: It started off as just a warmup song. The verse and the funky part. J: It was just that little “Conspicuous BYstandeeeerrrrrs” groove. We warmed up to that, and we knew someday we were gonna do something with it, but for right now it’s just this part. And then one day we decided to take that part and finish the song. And within the first line it became what it was gonna be, which is a song about us. Duncan: It’s about our crew. It’s not the idea of a Conspicuous Bystander in abstract, it’s about us being there for each other. J: Yeah “I can make any stand when I’m standing Hand in Hand with my band!” I feel like I wrote a love song to them. It’s hard to maintain a really good energy as a band that doesn’t get paid, especially when you’re touring. Trying to be who you want when you’re not in that position yet is hard, but it’s a lot easier when you’re doing it with your family of friends. It’s about life and making it through life with these guys. D: Not all the new songs are about us though. Well, everything is a little about us. But there’s a song called [REDACTED TO SAVE MYSTERY FOR THE ALBUM] which talks about [REDACTED TO SAVE MYSTERY FOR THE ALBUM]. And another called [REDACTED TO SAVE MYSTERY FOR THE ALBUM] which is about [REDACTED TO SAVE MYSTERY FOR THE ALBUM]. J: Yeah, I think you could say most songs are about life being hard. But you could also say that some of them are about what you do because life is hard. Like [REDACTED TO SAVE MYSTERY FOR THE ALBUM] doesn’t talk about how hard life is…. E: It’s a celebration of life! J: Yeah, it’s about partying in France. Zach: Well leave some mystery for the album guys! Just sprinkle one thing in there, to give them a taste. Have you guys musically evolved with this new album? 10
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J: Oh yeah. D: We’re playing some new styles. The first one has some variation in it, like reggae. But in this one we go in some directions we’ve never gone before Z: The thing that’s really cool is when Duncan and I came into the band at first most of the music was written for the first album. We just kinda added in little things that naturally came out of the groove. The last album was the formation of the ensemble, but now this is the ensemble speaking together. E: Zach and Duncan, on top of being fantastic musicians, they understand music on a really high level. Not only is their playing tremendous, but they also help with compositions. They add diversification even into a pop song. I think no one is feeling the weight of having to carry everything themselves. Once we get into a room we’re playing badminton, volleying the ideas around. Nobody is keeping score of who is doing what. Zach workshop a baseline, Duncan helped with the guitar solo on “Hand in Hand.” J: And all of the writing credits for this album are split evenly among the band. Z: So when we make millions on this record we’ll all get an even split. On the note of styles you’re bringing into this, who is your biggest influence for each of your roles in the band? Z: Spartan marching band. E: Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin, on top of being a big part of the writing, and his playing is amazing, but he was instrumental in the production of the albums, and I take on a significant role in the studio. Z (Seriously this time): I think the sound I always try to emulate is Ian Pace from Deep Purple. I mean, Bonham but we can’t all do Zeppelin. I think the subtlety and clarity of Larnell Lewis, he’s more of a fusion guy (my background is in Jazz studies). I wanna invoke Elvin Jones’s energy. But tonally, the sound I want is Deep Purple with the execution of Larnell. D: I have two answers, and they both are involved with the production and songwriting. Michael League from Snarky Puppy, and Thundercat who are among the 11
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best players alive and also help with productions on other people’s tracks. They have such an amazing ear for writing damn good simple baselines. J: I’m gonna list four names that are the foundation of where I’ve started in this band. Jim Morrison. Freddy Mercury, who is super important because his stage presence is A1. Jim Morrison too, but I think I’d rather see a Freddy Mercury performance if only for consistency. Adele is someone I’ve been singing with since high school. She is a vocal powerhouse and everything I’ve wanted to be as a singer. Lastly, Axl Rose. D: Yes! J: I love to hear who people think I sound like, because it’s always different but also very repetitive. People say Grace Slick a lot, which is surprising because I don’t think we have a similar way of singing. I think it’s just because we play “White Rabbit.” Speaking of that, why do you guys play “White Rabbit” so often? Z: It’s the first cover we ever played. D: It starts off with a good base line, then it has classic psych chord progressions. It hits every time. And it’s short. J: Everyone knows it, I can sing it, it’s easy for us to play. It’s one of those songs that if we didn’t play it for six months I would be confident in playing it again. We’ve just been playing that song since always. We even played it when it was just Emmet and I. Z: But it’s evolved since we first started playing it. We play it longer than is done on the album to bring our own thing to it, like add a guitar solo or a bass solo, or whatever we can to make it our own. D: We bring our own thing to it, but covers also bring their own thing to us. J: It’s so fun to find a song that you want to cover, then break down what made it the song you love. You can take those things and use it in your music. For instance, I never think structurally in terms of music, as in verse-chorus-verse, so it’s fun to find songs that inspire me to write something with maybe four different choruses. How would you describe your sound to someone who hasn’t heard it before? 12
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D: I don’t try, I just say “we’re a rock and roll band.” J: I usually say what’s on my mind, then ask “what does that make you think?” I think the answer is that we don’t have an answer for that. It’s so hard to remove your art from yourself to see what it is in those general terms. One genre can encompass so many sounds. Z: Also we only make genres so we can sell records. Like if you google Jazz, you’re gonna get bebop, you’re gonna get big band, you’re gonna get post-bop, you’re gonna get jazz fusion, you're gonna get 80s rebirth. You look up rock you’re gonna get all types of metal, punk… J: We love using every genre we can. And why wouldn’t you? Last question, and we’re gonna make it Co-op related: What co-op party that you’ve played at is the most memorable to you? E: The best ones are the ones you don’t remember well. So are we talking the bottom half? Z: If you remember the show, it means you were thinking too much. D: I think the best one, and I don’t remember where, but it was packed. And something about the night… people wanted to dance, then they kinda wanted to mosh. Everybody was getting down. The energy of the room was beyond words. J: I would say the same. I don’t remember what house it was, and don’t remember a lot. But every co-op party is just a really good time where people are having fun, and letting loose like they don’t do at bars. Which is the beauty of a co-op show. Z: The best outcome is to see the crowd reacting, and you remember half of what you did on stage, which means something very positive just happened. Find Conspicuous Bystanders on Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube, and a live show near you (whenever live shows exist again)
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Jenna of Conspicuous Bystanders in the basement at Phoenix
Title IX Changes
By Grace James from Vesta It’s time to take a stance and declare that the Trump administration keeps their hands off Title IX. Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions that receives federal funding, which is the vast majority of both K-12 schools and
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universities. Both Supreme Court decisions and guidance from the Department of Education have given Title IX a broad scope to also cover sexual harassment and sexual violence. Meaning that schools are legally required to respond and remedy hostile educational environments and failure to do so is a violation. This means a school could risk losing its federal funding. Sadly, Betsy Devos and the Trump Administration released their new rulings on Title IX showing they have no interest in supporting survivors and their willingness to sweep sexual assault under the rug. The new rule dismisses 92% of all sexual assault/harassment cases and plumits the safety in educational institutions. It’s time for students, administrators, alumni, constituents, and allies to take a stand and fight for a better and more protective policy on sexual assault on college campuses. Join us virtually on July 9th at 3:00 PM for a Title IX training and ways to protect survivors and prevent sexual assault on your college campus. The event can be found in the SHC Facebook member group along with the link to join.
Resources for Social Justice Compiled by Noah Walker from Harambee Anti-Racist Social Justice Organizations In Michigan Black Lives Matter Michigan Chapter (Lansing and Detroit) Movement for Black Lives New Detroit Detroiters Resisting Emergency Management Survivor Speaks Solidarity and Defense Committee No Detention Centers in Michigan Committee to End New Jim Crow-UU Lansing Election 20XX Salus Center Lansing Association for Human Rights Showing Up For Racial Justice Washtenaw General Defense Committee Redneck Revolt Michigan People’s Defense Network Dignity in Schools Campaign
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Media Outlets-National Color of Change In These Times The Intercept Democracy Now! The Real News MintPress News Counterpunch Free Speech TV Black Agenda Report Truthout Common Dreams
Media Outlets-Statewide BLAC Detroit Magazine Michigan Chronicle The Michigan Frontpage The Telegram The Grand Rapids Times The Jackson Blazer News The Michigan Bulletin The New Citizens Press The People’s Tribune
Sounds of the SHC
Collected by Kiran Lantrip from Raft Hill New Community: Artist: Garbage, Album: Garbage Mama Phoenix: Ca plane pour moi by Plastic Bertrand Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It - Will Smith, Better Off Alone - Alice DJ (Phoenix) Harambee: Run The Jewels-Walking In The Snow; Fiona Apple-Shameika Vesta: Not music, but I found out Angela Y Davis is on Spotify with speeches and interviews! Raft Hill: Nightwish's new album "Human :: Nature". It is an incredibly powerful journey exploring humanity's relationship with nature.
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Welcome, Dan!
You may have already seen him around your house fixing stuff, but Dan Tooman is going to be filling in for Mike McCurdy as our maintenance coordinator for the summer! Here's a hello and introduction from Dan : Dearest cooperative members, It’s a pleasure to join on as your temporary maintenance coordinator. For the coming summer months, I’ll be working with your staff and leadership teams to keep your homes running as smoothly and safely as possible. We will be playing catch-up, and we will be adapting to these ever changing circumstances as they arise. We will do our very best to communicate maintenance related activities and how they impact you. I’m excited to join your staff and to get to get to know more of you personally over the summer. Co-ops have played a huge role in my life from the moment I moved into Miles Davis cooperative in 2009. I served for three and half years as Executive Vice President of maintenance, participating in several full house renovations and rewires - - but most thrillingly - - the acquisition and restoration of Howland house. You may have heard things, may have wondered. I painted it blue. It was worth every bit of controversy. ( : In the years after my time at MSU and the SHC I’ve done work in several specialty trades including glass installation, woodworking and carpentry, film set and prop building as well as special effects and general contracting. Throughout my journeys I’ve been regularly doing contract work for the co-ops and am well acquainted with each house and its quirks. Over the last decade cooperatives have given me more friendships, skills and opportunities - more family than I ever could have imagined. I’m grateful for all of it and I look forward to being a part of your time here at MSU student housing cooperative. Yours in cooperation, Dan Tooman
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PINE PRESS JUNE 2020
Toad Lane x New Comm Greenhouse
By Claire Schleusener from Toad Lane Toad Lane has been working in collaboration with New Community to build an 8x8 greenhouse. The materials are covered in part by a grant from the SHC! The houses hope to use the structure to grow veggies and herbs, and store gardening supplies. Toad Lane grew all the greenhouse plants from seeds during the winter. Feel free to come check it out and say hello! We are hoping to finish it this weekend. Above is a picture of our progress so far. This project exemplifies how the coops can be leaders for sustainable living in the East Lansing area!
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PINE PRESS JUNE 2020
Upcoming SHC Events
30 June @ 7pm: SHC Town Hall/Member Forum 9 July @ 3pm: Title IX Training 12 July @ 2pm: Facilitated Anti-Oppression Dialogue 16 July @ 4pm: Facilitated Book Talk
Thanks 4 reading! <3 MSU Student Housing Co-op 541 E Grand River Ave Ste 6 East Lansing MI 48823 (517).355.8313
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