Danielle Krasman said the co-ops are a lot like camp. A fifth-year prenursing senior in kinesiology, she first experienced the co-ops with her boyfriend, who was a resident. Currently living at Miles Davis Co-op, 152 Collingwood Drive, with five other students, Krasman said she enjoyed the group dynamic of the houses.

Students choosing to live in the co-ops are most often looking for affordable, fair housing free of landlords and excessive fees. It is a democratic community, actually a business, that runs on the persistence and efficiency of its members. The MSU SHC was founded in 1969 to meet such a need.

It was the structure and sense of control that Chris Matus, a fifth-year senior in social relations and policy and president of the SHC executive board, said drew him to the co-op community. Now he is in his third year living in Vesta Co-op.

“You meet a whole bunch of people really quickly,” Matus said, adding the experience can be overwhelming and intimidating to students as they adjust to their role in the house as part of the decision-making process. “For some people it is hard to really kind of think of themselves as a leader in the house. The house works better when everyone is contributing.”

The new authority took some getting used to for Jacob Knoblauch, a human biology junior in his first year at Vesta.

“I wasn’t used to having that much say in how things are done,” he said.

The result, Knoblauch said, is a larger community, where members reap the benefits of hard work and truly feel at home. Everyone pulls his or her own weight. Once moved into the house, a period of transition allows new members to learn the group dynamics — everything from schedules to meal plans, according to Rachel Boyce, an elementary education senior. Boyce moved into Vesta this fall, her first semester in a co-op.

“When you first move in, it is really like a forced community,” said Nina Chacker, a special education and deaf education junior. “You really have to depend on the people around you.”

Chacker also moved into Vesta this year after living in Orion Co-op. She said members must become acclimated to the people and environment of the house, dealing with either knowing people in the house or coming in blind. What is important is respect.

“You really have to gain a sense of how your actions affect other people,” Chacker said. “It really is a family, and it really is a support group. You do have that bond of doing your everyday things as a community.”

A cooperative structure

The MSU Student Housing Cooperative is a community of 12 houses of all sizes and capacities, occupied by 194 residents. While all houses are the property of the SHC, not all are paid off, though to do so is a continuing goal for the organization.

In following the definition of a cooperative business, all members, upon signing a lease and by paying rent, own a share of the houses and therefore a say in decisions. The SHC employs only three nonstudents: one who remains in the office to provide information about the organization and two maintenance staff.

Rent covers the overall cost of running the house, including utilities, cable and Internet. Also included is an assessment, or set amount paid to the SHC general fund each month. The money in the general fund is kept for unforeseen circumstances, for example a damaged roof, and to pay the staff and employees.

Finally, if the house decides, a meal plan may be included, which can include a set number of regular meals and a stocked pantry.

Houses also can decide to include vegetarian or vegan meal options.

Rent is adjusted by the number of people in a room — one or two.

Some houses have fines for missed chores, and that money supports the house fund.

Maureen Dowdle, a first-year business administration graduate student, chose the co-ops after living in dorms and a house while on study abroad. The idea of living in a landlord-free, not-for-profit environment was appealing.

“I think it is nice that you are able to join a community that has a lot of diversity but with a common purpose,” she said. “I think the co-ops provide a social aspect to the college experience.”

Currently the house representative to the board at Lothlorian Co-op, 415 Ann St., Dowdle said learning about the organization also has helped in her pursuit of her MBA, studying what it takes to run a business.

“I find it very interesting to see what goes into the decisions that are made – that’s the beauty of a student-run business,” she said.

After living in Miles Davis during her senior year, she moved into Lothlorian with three other members.

All discussion begins at house meetings, scheduled regularly by each house to hear concerns, plan events and make decisions.

They set rules for noise and handle disputes among members.

Krasman said each house has chosen representatives who are part of community-wide committees, such as maintenance and finance. They meet biweekly to handle legislative duties.

An executive board is elected by the community to meet regularly and hear the concerns of the community.

Matus, formerly the vice president of the education committee, took over as president in May. The executive board, he said, provides guidance and opinions, but he only votes if there is a tie.

Decisions regarding renovation of a house are left to the residents, giving them freedom to do things like paint walls. The different co-ops organize house projects to improve the structures. Community-wide projects also are scheduled.

Chris McTaggart, an international studies and anthropology senior, chose to transfer to MSU from Eastern Michigan University largely because of the co-op community in East Lansing.

“For me, I kind of came here sight unseen,” he said.

Now in his sixth semester in the co-ops, and his fourth in Hedrick, 140 Collingwood Drive, he describes life in the co-ops as an exchange of ideas.

“We have 15 people in the house, and no two people are exactly the same,” McTaggart said.

The SHC also publishes a newspaper, The Pine Press, every other week, where members can share their thoughts and ideas with their fellow residents.

Community service also is a part of life in the co-ops. Organized by the education committee, past events have benefited Haven House and a school for girls in Africa. Parties often become fundraisers for organizations like Amnesty International.

Lessons and memories

Regardless of what is studied in the classroom, life in the co-ops imposes its own lessons that members will carry with them after graduation.

Matus said living in the co-ops allows students to gain perspective about different people, lifestyles, backgrounds and communities.

“It definitely makes college a more well-rounded experience,” said Chacker, who will miss the freedom of expression and control she maintains. “It makes me realize how many communities I am a part of and what my roles are in all of them.”

Students gain tolerance and patience as well as leadership skills and the ability to communicate, learning to resolve conflicts and concerns as a group, finding a solution to benefit all parties as best as possible.

“You have to learn how to apologize and move on,” Krasman said.

The range of personalities truly teaches members to cooperate.

“I’ve learned to communicate with people of various stripes,” McTaggart said. “It’s a positive living environment and most people really enjoy it.”

Following graduation, Krasman and Knoblauch said they will miss traditions, like late-night foosball games.

Overall, Matus said the experience has been inspiring. He has met great friends and experienced what changes can occur from working together.

No matter what happens this year, the current co-opers pave the way for residents to come.

“Every house is different and every house changes every year,” Krasman said.

“You are dependent on what people did last year and the people you are living with that year,” Dowdle said. “It is your duty to set up the houses for next year.”