Co-ops offer cheap, diverse living experience

Students looking for a place that is affordable and completely run by students might find the MSU Student Housing Cooperative a good choice for a home.

The cooperative currently owns 13 houses, said Adrien Vlach, executive director of the organization. The people who live there take care of their own means of living, he said.

“The students set their own rates and they plan renovations,” Vlach said. “It is completely student run. They tell me what to do and they’ve been doing a great job, which is why we’ve been around about 40 years.”

Some houses are licensed for five people, and others are as large as 29 people.

“It’s better than the dorms because you can’t live with 20 people, have meetings with them, see them every day and not get close,” Vlach said. “In the dorms, people live really close to each other but don’t really get to know each other. They’re like ships passing in the night.”

Despite living in close proximity, living in a co-op is a lot different than living on campus, said Matt Kelterborn, an international relations senior who lived in the Phoenix, 239 Oakhill Ave.

“It’s a totally different from living in the dorms, and it really branches out your interactions and the types of people you would normally hang out with,” he said.

Living in a co-op could save students a lot of money, Kelterborn said.

It’s also a learning experience and sustainable way of living, said Fiona Smith, an art and humanities junior, who currently lives in the Bower, 127 Whitehills Drive.

“There are a lot of opportunities and skills to learn and share with other people you are living with,” she said. “You get to meet a lot of amazing people and get involved in things.”

Eight of the 13 houses have meal plans, which is a nice addition, Smith said.

“You learn how to cook,” she said.

“My house has meals Sunday through Thursday, but we also have a pantry. At my house, we have a vegetable garden out front, so we are partially self-sustaining.”

Being able to have a vegetable garden is one thing that makes cooperatives more resourceful, Vlach said.

“Cooperatives are more resourceful than DTN or living at Chandler Crossings,” Vlach said. “You can’t plant a vegetable garden in your front yard or a compost and have it be OK.”

The houses that don’t have a meal plan still provide amenities for their residents, Vlach said.

“Those that don’t (have meal plans) provide plates, cups, dishes and multiple refrigerators and you can write your name on stuff so no one steals your eggs,” he said.

Living in a co-op gives students a little more freedom with their living experience, said Charles Roltsch, a journalism senior and president of the Phoenix cooperative.

“We’re nonprofit and I think it works better than when a management company is in charge of houses,” he said. “It’s a lot more personal.”

Co-ops appeal to several groups, and provide a diverse living experience, Roltsch said.

“I met people that came from different parts of the state and the country,” he said.

“We even have some international students. You get to know a lot of different people.”

Kelterborn said he still hangs out with friends he met in his cooperative who have since moved away.

“I still hang out with people I used to live in the co-op with,” he said. “I’d play music with some of them, so every now and again we’ll get together and jam.”

For more information, call the cooperative office at (517) 355-8313 or go to www.msu.coop.