4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 7, 2001
OP/ED
0
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GEOFFREY GAGNON
Editor in Chief
MICHAEL GRASS
NICHOLAS WOOMER
Editorial Page Editors
Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the majority of the
Daily's editorial board. All other articles, letters and cartoons do not
necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily.
NOTABLE
QUOTABLE
No way.
Mother was not
possessed ..it'2
did not-hurt her
sanctity." SSi{-,r,.-
Archbishop Henry D 'Souza,
responding to rumors that Mother Teresalethprosperity.
received an exorcism while hospitalized in ltt
1997, as quoted by the Associated Press.
Wait, she leads the thug life?
REBECCA ISENBERG ON TURNTMA\LE AND A MR RIOPHONE
6
6
A
A__while back at a
frat party I sur-
prised a drunken
crowd with a special kind
of table dance. No, I did
not strip down to my
Calvins to "Pour Some
Sugar on Me." Instead, I
stood on this rickety
table, which has probably
seen more than its fair share of Beirut and
flip cup, and proceeded to entertain them by
screaming at the top of my lungs verse after
verse of rap music.
This was not your average frat party rap.
This wasn't Ja Rule's "Put it on me" or
DMX's "Party Up," staple songs of a Greek
system disc jockey. I was singing obscure
Ice Cube songs, The Roots, De La Soul,
Method Man, Eminem's underground
tracks. I stood on this table and wowed the
crowd with my incredible knowledge of
lyrics. They stared at me with a look like,
how does this little white girl know all these
words? And I simply have to answer
because I, Becca Isenberg, am a true player
in: The Rap Game.
If you saw me eating lunch at Mr.
Greek's Coney Island you might classify me
as a Backstreet Boys type of girl. I have that
teenybopper, trendy look to me. I'm not
gonna lie. That look that somehow says to an
outsider, hey I bet that girl loves a good
episode of Total Request Live. But what you
would soon find out is I really don't want it
that way. I like it like a true gangsta. I con-
sider myself a thug. I like to think that if I
met Dre on the street he would know that I
keep it real and let me ride. Or if Biggie were
still here (RIP) he would probably give me
one more chance. Hell, just like the Cash
Money Millionaires, my entourage and I roll
deep up in the club and drink crystal. Well,
maybe we just drink Boones but still. The
point is I'm one of those classic cases of why
you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Or a
rap artist by his mainstream fan base.
The problem with my misunderstood per-
sona is that its often difficult to convince peo-
ple that I truly could be the next member of
Roc La Familia (Jay Z's crew). Other
wannabes often challenge how true to the Rap
Game I really am. Back when I was a young
g, my freshman year in high school, I was
often asked to prove my thug-like nature by
naming all the members of the Wu-Tang Clan.
Name them? Name them? Hey, I wouldn't
just name them I would proceed to engage in a
freestyle battle with these boys who question
my gangstaness. Of course they would win,
because I have to admit I really can't freestyle.
But hey, I still know all the Wu Tang mem-
bers names.
You might be saying to yourself, So? I
know all the Wu Tang Members names too.
And this may be true. Except I bet you are kid-
ding yourself. But if you are not you have to
understand that this is not the only reason that I
claim myself to be so hard core. You see the
rap game really is a lifestyle. You gotta live it
all day, every day, every damn day as the
Great MC TQ once said. You have to have the
heart of a thug. You have to have the mind of a
thug. And of course you gotta have the clothes.
The Rap Game isn't all about the music. Its
about personality. True.
Rule number one to being a successful
thug like myself is to have a sidekick. I
enlisted my best friend to be Puff Daddy to
my Biggie, the Snoop to my Dre, the Jer-
maine DuPri to my little bow wow, the
Beanie Siegal to my Jay Z. In order for her to
maintain true sidekick status I of course will
have to add an intro verse to the remix of her
first single. The second rule is to make sure
your living quarters are suitable for MTV's
special edition of cribs entitled "How to Live
Large." I know you all know what I'm talk-
ing about.'In order to make sure of this you
must put pictures of your rap idols all over
your room and make sure you have a set of
turntables out for all to see. Turntables are
essential for a thug image. And last but not
least make sure that you drive a car that
looks to the average passerby like your
rollin' down the street in your 6-4. Even if
it's really a '93 Honda Civic.
You may think that this is a joke. But hey
I'm more serious than Big Pun's heart attack.
The University will eventually see who I'm
rolling with and how we do it. And I don't
mean Montell Jordan style. So the next time
you see a skinny, white girl like myself walk-
ing through the Diag don't assume she's
rushing off to watch Dawson's Creek. If
she's like me she's rushing home to perfect
her beats. I come from the streets.-You better
recognize.
Rebecca Isenberg can be reached
via e-mail at risen er@umich.edu.
4
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Daily will be given priority over those dropped off in
person or sent via the U.S. Postal Service.
Music fan wants
'barenaked truth'
TO THE DAILY:
As a devoted Barenaked Ladies fan whose
concert total has reached double digits, I was
appalled by Wednesday's article "Barenaked-
Ladies 'Re-Energize' DTE." Ryan C. Moloney
did a competent job describing the band's playlist,
however, his descriptions were flawed with erro-
neous details. I have heard BNL cover the song
"Mrs. Robinson" before, but I doubt they were
referring to Ed's mother. Moloney referred to
BNL's lead guitarist as "Ed Robinson," not Ed
Robertson, his true name, throughout the entire
article. At one point in the article, Maloney lists a
string of songs he claims are "newer."- However,
"I live with it Everyday" is one of the earliest
songs Paige and Robertson ever have written.
Finally, Moloney lists BNL's "musical expertise"
as a defining attribute of the band. I think most
fans would agree with me that, while their catchy
four chord songs aren't bad, it is BNL's creative
and humorous lyrics that put them on a level
above their peers. The problems in this article are
excusable only because it's the first paper of the
semester; but in the future, just give me the "Bare-
naked" truth.
DAVID ROSEN
LSA senior
Reader outraged at
Woomer should'
'make a real difference,'
join DP
TO THE DAILY:
As the founder of The Detroit Project
and a current Detroit resident doing
community building for a local commu-
nity organization, I am very disappoint-
ed that Nick Woomer chose to formulate
his opinion about the DP without even
talking -to anyone involved in the organi-
zation or attending one of DP's events
("Students need to do more than rake
leaves to solve Detroit's ills," 9/5/01).
I can safely say that The Detroit Pro-
ject agrees with much of what Woomer
argues about the city of Detroit. Detroit
does have multiple problems, and Detroi-
ters need to be economically, politically,
and socially (which Woomer apparently
feels is not important) empowered. But
DP doesn't pretend to be fixing all of
Detroit's problems. It recognizes that
volunteers, doing the projects that DP
does, will never be able to address all of
the issues Detroit is facing.
DP's projects do address one very
important issue, though: social empow-
erment. The core of our mission,
"building community," has nothing to
do with making sure Detroiters "have
nice things," as Woomer suggests.
Rather, building community is about
people, both from the University and
Detroit, getting involved in their com-
munity. Raking leaves is not just about
raking leaves; it is about participation.
Our mission has to do with jump-start-
ing people and ending the apathy that
plagues many of Detroit's neighbor-
hoods, as well as many parts of the Uni-
versity. It has to do with getting people
motivated to participate and to continue
their involvement - be it in the social,
political, or economic arena.
This is why education about Detroit
history and current issues is an extreme-
ly important part of DP's programming.
At projects and events, including DP
Day, volunteers are.given literature to
read, conversations are held, presenta-
tions are made, and questions are asked
the 1,400 student volunteers, the trip to
Detroit is their first exposure to urban
blight; it is not a warm, fuzzy feeling to
encounter a child who cannot afford
shoes in winter or an elderly person liv-
ing next to a crack house. The experi-
ence is not one of "empty
sentimentality," but is one of deeper
understanding and increased awareness
of problems that exist in urban areas.
But even more than the education
component is the fact that DP's partner-
ships are with community organizations
who have identified the needs of their
neighborhoods. Our ongoing projects,
the bulk of what DP does, are in collab-
oration with organizations that are con-
stantly striving to address the very
issues Woomer believes we are over-
looking (or even refusing to address).
These community groups are doing
things such as: renovating and building
homes for low-income families and con-
ducting home-owner training, providing
child-care so parents can work, or pro-
viding job-skill training and support. As
the DP supports the efforts of these
organizations, volunteers are in fact
addressing the deeper economic and
political issues.
Woomer suggests that DP ask a
Brightmoor resident if a good job or
clean neighborhood would make a more
significant difference. I have asked
Brightmoor residents. Lots of them. DP
asks Brightmoor residents every week,
"What would make the most significant
difference in your community?" The
responses DP receives are what drive the
projects: housing, blight, youth and edu-
cation. DP organizers do not simply pick
projects they think will make volunteers
feel good. The work that is done comes
directly from what the community prior-
ities are. We know our work is slowly
but surely making a real difference in
the community. How do we know this?
The community (those we are working
with, not an observer who has only
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