Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan
Encyclopedia
The Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan
(ICC) is a student owned and operated housing cooperative
serving students and community members in Ann Arbor, Michigan
. The ICC is an active member of NASCO
.
, members of the Socialist Club
at the University of Michigan
founded the Michigan Socialist House
, located at 335 East Ann Street, in 1932. In return for four to five hours of work and two dollars each week, each of the 18 founding members received room, board, barber, canning, and laundry service. The success of the Michigan Socialist House
fueled other cooperative endeavors by the Socialist Club
, the most notable being the Michigan Cooperative Boarding House, later to be renamed the Michigan Wolverine Eating Co-op. The Michigan Wolverine Eating Co-op would later play a vital role in the expansion of the cooperative movement on campus. By serving as a common ground for members of the Socialist Club and the Student Christian Association, which owned the building at the time, the Wolverine Eating Co-op introduced the idea of housing cooperatives to many within the religious community.
The second wave of student cooperative houses was formally initiated in 1934 through the efforts of the Reverend and Mrs. H. L. Pickerill. The Pickerills welcomed students to live in their house in exchange for performing household chores. By 1936 there were a total of eight students living in the Pickerills' attic who, with the help of a $700 loan from the Reverend, rented a house on Thompson Street naming it the Student Cooperative House and, later, Rochdale House
. Because the women who often visited the Rochdale Co-op were in a similar economic position to their male counterparts and the University did not allow for males and females to cohabitate, they began to look for a house of their own. A house at 517 East Ann Street http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=517+East+Ann+St,+Ann+Arbor,+MI was rented and ran smoothly as the Girls' Cooperative House until 1939 when it was forced to move to 1511 Washtenaw Street http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=1511+Washtenaw,+Ann+Arbor,+MI, adopting the new name, the Alice Freeman Palmer House, named after prominent women's educational rights activist Alice Freeman Palmer
.
In 1937, adhering to the Rochdale Principles
of cooperation among cooperatives and continuing education, the four existing student cooperatives, the Michigan Socialist House, the Michigan Wolverine Eating Co-op, the Rochdale cooperative House and the yet to be renamed Girls' Cooperative House joined together to form the Campus Cooperative Council. This organization later became known as the Inter-Cooperative Council and, in 1939, submitted a draft of its first constitution to be adopted and ratified by each of the cooperatives on campus. The increased economy, efficiency, and publicity gained through the establishment of the Inter-Cooperative Council facilitated the establishment of many more student cooperatives on Campus. This expansion reached its peak prior to the outbreak of World War II
when the ICC consisted of 12 independent rooming and boarding houses. All of the organization's houses were rented until 1943 when Stevens House was purchased.
The ICC hired its first paid executive director, Luther Buchele, in 1951, although some students felt having paid leadership was at odds with cooperative values.
. The houses are primarily named after past co-opers and are often known locally by the honoree's last name (e.g. Karl D. Gregory House goes by simply 'Gregory').
located on East Jefferson Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan
. The cooperative
is named after Economics professor Harold Osterweil.
Its first residents were men during the summer of 1946, but in the fall of 1946 Osterweil became a women's house and in 1970 became co-ed. By the time of its purchase, all new student housing had to be approved by the University because students were legally considered minors at that time. Because the ICC moved so fast in its expansion, the University was not asked for approval until after the house was already purchased. The first house that the University granted approval for retroactively is most likely Osterweil.
Osterweil is the third co-operative and is one of the smallest in the Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan
(ICC). It is located across from the Institute for Social Research and is in immediate walking distance from downtown Ann Arbor and Central Campus. The LSA Building, Student Activities Building, and the Union are a few notable landmarks that are in close proximity of the house.
At Osterweil there are four single rooms and four double rooms which typically house a total of twelve people. Generally there is an equal number of graduate and undergraduate students and the ratio of males to females is encouraged to be kept at a strict 1:1 ratio. However, an exception was made for the 2009-2010 school year in which the house contained 7 males and 5 females.
Dinner is served five nights a week, giving members the option of dining out or preparing their own meals when dinner is not served on Friday and Saturday. Osterweil has made a point to be flexible and respect their residents dietary wishes and restrictions. There is always a vegetarian option at dinner for those who wish and, as in Fall 08, meals can also be made without dairy products for those that are lactose intolerant. In addition to the meals part of the boarding charges covers a wide variety of food that is deemed GUFF, which stands for General Unspecified Free Food but can be used to refer to any "free" object in the house whether it is a nice office chair or a colorful rug. The word "guff" also is slang for nonsense.
Monthly charges vary from year to year but Osterweil has had a long history of having the lowest charges in the ICC. Many of Osterweil's unique facets and attributes contribute to this such as their DIY culture and other unconventional forms of thriftiness. Generally the average cost per month is around $500 compared to other houses in the ICC that have charges $550+ per month. For the 08-09 housing term, the cost at Osterweil was $513 ($362/mo ICC charges plus $151/mo House charges for utilities, amenities & all the food you can eat!). Since residents own part of the Co-operative they do not pay rent to landlords but rather "charges" or dues to the co-operative as whole. Residents give their monthly charges, made out to the ICC, to the house secretary or turn it into the ICC office themselves.
Each year the house elects many officers that tend to issues such as budgeting, food purchasing, and maintenance. At the beginning of every semester a House President is elected who oversees and coordinates all the officers as well as hosts house wide meetings and forums every month.
, democratic member control, ultimate authority in the organization lies with the Board of Directors. The ICC Board meets on Sundays, usually twice a month during the academic year (September to April) and one a month during the summer (May to August).
The chairs of each committee, the ICC president, and the General Manager sit on another committee that helps to coordinate the efforts of all the other committees and the board of directors. This committee is known as the Coordinating Committee (CoCo).
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
(ICC) is a student owned and operated housing cooperative
Housing cooperative
A housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. ...
serving students and community members in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
. The ICC is an active member of NASCO
North American Students of Cooperation
The North American Students of Cooperation is a federation of housing cooperatives in Canada and the United States, started in 1968. Traditionally, NASCO has been associated with student housing cooperatives, though non-student cooperatives are included in its network...
.
History
In response to the harsh economic times imposed by the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, members of the Socialist Club
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
founded the Michigan Socialist House
Michigan Cooperative House
Michigan Cooperative House, founded in 1932 as Michigan Socialist House, is believed to be the oldest independent housing cooperative in North America. It was located at 335 E. Ann Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan, near the University of Michigan campus, and now is located at 315 N. State Street...
, located at 335 East Ann Street, in 1932. In return for four to five hours of work and two dollars each week, each of the 18 founding members received room, board, barber, canning, and laundry service. The success of the Michigan Socialist House
Michigan Cooperative House
Michigan Cooperative House, founded in 1932 as Michigan Socialist House, is believed to be the oldest independent housing cooperative in North America. It was located at 335 E. Ann Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan, near the University of Michigan campus, and now is located at 315 N. State Street...
fueled other cooperative endeavors by the Socialist Club
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, the most notable being the Michigan Cooperative Boarding House, later to be renamed the Michigan Wolverine Eating Co-op. The Michigan Wolverine Eating Co-op would later play a vital role in the expansion of the cooperative movement on campus. By serving as a common ground for members of the Socialist Club and the Student Christian Association, which owned the building at the time, the Wolverine Eating Co-op introduced the idea of housing cooperatives to many within the religious community.
The second wave of student cooperative houses was formally initiated in 1934 through the efforts of the Reverend and Mrs. H. L. Pickerill. The Pickerills welcomed students to live in their house in exchange for performing household chores. By 1936 there were a total of eight students living in the Pickerills' attic who, with the help of a $700 loan from the Reverend, rented a house on Thompson Street naming it the Student Cooperative House and, later, Rochdale House
Rochdale
Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
. Because the women who often visited the Rochdale Co-op were in a similar economic position to their male counterparts and the University did not allow for males and females to cohabitate, they began to look for a house of their own. A house at 517 East Ann Street http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=517+East+Ann+St,+Ann+Arbor,+MI was rented and ran smoothly as the Girls' Cooperative House until 1939 when it was forced to move to 1511 Washtenaw Street http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=1511+Washtenaw,+Ann+Arbor,+MI, adopting the new name, the Alice Freeman Palmer House, named after prominent women's educational rights activist Alice Freeman Palmer
Alice Freeman Palmer
Alice Freeman Palmer was an American educator.She was born Alice Elvira Freeman in Colesville, New York and brought up in Windsor, New York. Her parents both came from well-to-do families with interests in lumber, dairy farming and land...
.
In 1937, adhering to the Rochdale Principles
Rochdale Principles
The Rochdale Principles are a set of ideals for the operation of cooperatives. They were first set out by the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers in Rochdale, England, in 1844, and have formed the basis for the principles on which co-operatives around the world operate to this day. The...
of cooperation among cooperatives and continuing education, the four existing student cooperatives, the Michigan Socialist House, the Michigan Wolverine Eating Co-op, the Rochdale cooperative House and the yet to be renamed Girls' Cooperative House joined together to form the Campus Cooperative Council. This organization later became known as the Inter-Cooperative Council and, in 1939, submitted a draft of its first constitution to be adopted and ratified by each of the cooperatives on campus. The increased economy, efficiency, and publicity gained through the establishment of the Inter-Cooperative Council facilitated the establishment of many more student cooperatives on Campus. This expansion reached its peak prior to the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
when the ICC consisted of 12 independent rooming and boarding houses. All of the organization's houses were rented until 1943 when Stevens House was purchased.
The ICC hired its first paid executive director, Luther Buchele, in 1951, although some students felt having paid leadership was at odds with cooperative values.
Houses
The ICC currently owns 19 houses around the Central and North Campuses of the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. The houses are primarily named after past co-opers and are often known locally by the honoree's last name (e.g. Karl D. Gregory House goes by simply 'Gregory').
Central Campus
- Ella Baker
- Black Elk
- Eugene V. DebsEugene V. Debs Cooperative HouseThe Eugene V. Debs Cooperative House was purchased in 1967 by the Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The house was named after socialist politician Eugene V. Debs...
- Karl D. GregoryKarl D. Gregory Cooperative HouseKarl D. Gregory Cooperative House is a member of the Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan. The structure that stands at was originally built in 1909 for the Tau Gamma Nu fraternity but was purchased by the ICC in 1995. Gregory House is the only house in the organization that is...
- Coretta Scott King
- Muriel LesterMuriel Lester Cooperative HouseMuriel Lester House is a cooperative house that is part of the Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan. Lester House is located at 900 Oakland Avenue in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and is named for the British peace activist Muriel Lester....
- Benjamin Linder
- Luther Buchele (known simply as 'Luther')
- MichiganMichigan Cooperative HouseMichigan Cooperative House, founded in 1932 as Michigan Socialist House, is believed to be the oldest independent housing cooperative in North America. It was located at 335 E. Ann Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan, near the University of Michigan campus, and now is located at 315 N. State Street...
- Minnie'sMinnie's Cooperative HouseMinnie's Cooperative House is a housing cooperative located at 307 N. State Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan, near the University of Michigan campus. Minnie's is one of the co-op houses making up the Inter-Cooperative Council.-See also:...
- John Nakamura
- Harold Osterweil
- Robert Owen
- Ruths'
- Sojourner Truth
- Stephan T. Vail
North Campus
The two North Campus houses exist in one large, purpose-built structure and are known as:- Georgia O'KeeffeGeorgia O'Keeffe Cooperative HouseLocated at 1500 to 1510 Gilbert Court, Georgia O'Keeffe Cooperative House, named after artist Georgia O'Keeffe, shares a building with Renaissance Cooperative House, the two uniting to form the overarching body known as M.C...
- Renaissance
- Note: A third North Campus house, M.C. Escher, exists and serves as a governing body for the two houses and is responsible for areas shared by both houses (hallways, exteriors, etc...).
Harold Osterweil Cooperative House
The Harold Osterweil Cooperative House is a student housing cooperativeStudent housing cooperative
A student housing cooperative, also known as co-operative housing, is a housing cooperative for students in an educational institution.Unlike a resident who acquires shares at market rates to earn the right to occupy a specific apartment on a permanent basis , a resident of a student co-op acquires...
located on East Jefferson Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
. The cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
is named after Economics professor Harold Osterweil.
Its first residents were men during the summer of 1946, but in the fall of 1946 Osterweil became a women's house and in 1970 became co-ed. By the time of its purchase, all new student housing had to be approved by the University because students were legally considered minors at that time. Because the ICC moved so fast in its expansion, the University was not asked for approval until after the house was already purchased. The first house that the University granted approval for retroactively is most likely Osterweil.
Osterweil is the third co-operative and is one of the smallest in the Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan
Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan
The Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan is a student owned and operated housing cooperative serving students and community members in Ann Arbor, Michigan...
(ICC). It is located across from the Institute for Social Research and is in immediate walking distance from downtown Ann Arbor and Central Campus. The LSA Building, Student Activities Building, and the Union are a few notable landmarks that are in close proximity of the house.
At Osterweil there are four single rooms and four double rooms which typically house a total of twelve people. Generally there is an equal number of graduate and undergraduate students and the ratio of males to females is encouraged to be kept at a strict 1:1 ratio. However, an exception was made for the 2009-2010 school year in which the house contained 7 males and 5 females.
Dinner is served five nights a week, giving members the option of dining out or preparing their own meals when dinner is not served on Friday and Saturday. Osterweil has made a point to be flexible and respect their residents dietary wishes and restrictions. There is always a vegetarian option at dinner for those who wish and, as in Fall 08, meals can also be made without dairy products for those that are lactose intolerant. In addition to the meals part of the boarding charges covers a wide variety of food that is deemed GUFF, which stands for General Unspecified Free Food but can be used to refer to any "free" object in the house whether it is a nice office chair or a colorful rug. The word "guff" also is slang for nonsense.
Monthly charges vary from year to year but Osterweil has had a long history of having the lowest charges in the ICC. Many of Osterweil's unique facets and attributes contribute to this such as their DIY culture and other unconventional forms of thriftiness. Generally the average cost per month is around $500 compared to other houses in the ICC that have charges $550+ per month. For the 08-09 housing term, the cost at Osterweil was $513 ($362/mo ICC charges plus $151/mo House charges for utilities, amenities & all the food you can eat!). Since residents own part of the Co-operative they do not pay rent to landlords but rather "charges" or dues to the co-operative as whole. Residents give their monthly charges, made out to the ICC, to the house secretary or turn it into the ICC office themselves.
Each year the house elects many officers that tend to issues such as budgeting, food purchasing, and maintenance. At the beginning of every semester a House President is elected who oversees and coordinates all the officers as well as hosts house wide meetings and forums every month.
Governance
In accordance with the second Rochdale principleRochdale Principles
The Rochdale Principles are a set of ideals for the operation of cooperatives. They were first set out by the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers in Rochdale, England, in 1844, and have formed the basis for the principles on which co-operatives around the world operate to this day. The...
, democratic member control, ultimate authority in the organization lies with the Board of Directors. The ICC Board meets on Sundays, usually twice a month during the academic year (September to April) and one a month during the summer (May to August).
Board of directors
The Board of Directors includes one voting representative from each house (including Escher), the chairpersons of standing committees (non-voting), and the General Manager (non-voting).Committees
Each board member must serve on a committee. The committees are:- Diversity Committee (DivCom)
- Membership Committee (MemCom)
- Recruitment Committee (ReCo)
- Education Committee (EdCom)
- Finance Committee (FinCom)
- Sustainability Committee (SusCo)
The chairs of each committee, the ICC president, and the General Manager sit on another committee that helps to coordinate the efforts of all the other committees and the board of directors. This committee is known as the Coordinating Committee (CoCo).
See also
- North American Students of CooperationNorth American Students of CooperationThe North American Students of Cooperation is a federation of housing cooperatives in Canada and the United States, started in 1968. Traditionally, NASCO has been associated with student housing cooperatives, though non-student cooperatives are included in its network...
- Inter-Cooperative Council
- University of Texas Inter-Cooperative CouncilUniversity of Texas Inter-Cooperative CouncilThe University of Texas Inter-Cooperative Council is a student owned and operated housing cooperative serving students and community members in Austin, Texas. ICC Austin is an active member of NASCO.-Houses:*Arrakis*2212 Pearl St....