The Michigan Daily - Thursday, May 5, 1983- Page 21
Co-op vacancy rate climbs
By JACKIE YOUNG
A seven percent vacancy rate in the
University's cooperative housing
system last term shows that fewer
students are willing to sacrifice having
their own rooms to save money, co-op
officials say.
The increased vacancies are a sharp
change from last year when students
were "crashing down the doors" to get
into co-ops, says Luther Buchele,
executive secretary for the Inter-
Cooperative Council (ICC).
THE CO-OPS aren't in financial
trouble because of the vacancies, but
the ICC, which coordinates the 22 co-ops
on campus, raised monthly rates by $1
to make up for lost revenues, Buchele
says.
Past ICC Treasurer Peter Dewey
says he is not worried about the in-
creased vacancies, but added that "the
more vacancies there are, the higher
the per member price is going to be."
Presently, students can save up to
$1,000 per year living in co-ops com-
pared to room and board costs in dor-
mitories. In exchange for doing main-
tenance work such as cooking or
'cleaning for a minimum number of
hours a week, a student pays reduced
rent.
BUT FEWER students will commit
themselves to the work requirement, or
need the financial savings as badly as
in the past, which may account for the
increased vacancies, Buchele says.
"Ten or 15 years ago students would
treat the co-ops as their homes," says.
Buchele, who has worked at the ICC for
32 years.
"(Students) were more willing to
come and stay on for a number of
years. Now in some houses there is an
80 percent turnover," he says, "which
doesn't make for a lot of good running
houses."
"IF (STUDENTS) had more
economic problems they would treat
(co-op savings) more seriously.
"In the old days students thought
about getting a job and moving into a
co-op to save $800 a year over dorm
rates and getting things like free laun-
dry," Buchele says.
The work co-op residents must do
each week also teaches them
organization, job responsibility, and
how to work with other people which is
"an experience gain that money can't
buy," Buchele says.
Students who come to the University
today, are from families with higher in-
comes and can afford more expensive
housing, he says.
THE AVERAGE SALARY of a co-op
student's family today is $40,000 which
Buchele says is much higher than past
years.
Higher tuition and less financial aid
make it more difficult for needy studen-
ts to come to the University. People
who really. need low-cost housing
probably can't afford to come to the
University, he says.
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