0 i - - | 8B Wednesday, February 2, 2011 // The Statement PERSONALSTATEMENT DEVOTED TO DETROIT THE PRIDE FOR A CITY W IT H A BAD REPUTATION BY ALEXIS SMITH hometown is a vital aspect of your identity, and most people have pride for some place that they've lived. How- ever, some cities are difficult to be proud of. Detroit, Michigan is rich in American history, both good and bad. It was Michigan's original capitol and the original home of the University'of Michi- gan. As the birthplace of Motown, the center of the American auto- mobile industry and a significant component of the Underground Railroad, Detroit has had a rich history. Over recent decades, Detroit has gained abad reputation among its neighboring cities as well as the rest of the country. A high crime rate as a result of increasing pov- erty keeps the evening news bleak. Every journalist and documentar- ian loves to expose the "struggling ghettos of Motor City." It some- times seems they revel in a crum- bling city that once thrived. I am fully aware of its flaws. Some cit- ies are difficult to love. I was born in Detroit's east side. I was raised on Detroit's west side. I attended Detroit Pub- lic Schools from kindergarten to DETROIT From Page 5B "Kind of like what you guys are doing in Detroit?" I asked. It's a leading question, and she knows it. She looks at me and smirks and explains that Detroit is different than everyone believes. "(In Detroit) we're all walking down the street, and we're going to different places," Solowy said as she plasters a piece of the local Span- ish newspaper to the bullfrog mold. "But we're all walking down the same street." WHO ARE YOU? WHY ARE YOU HERE? A youngboy inan oversized jacket leaned on the table in the middle of the room. He was the high school graduation. I gradu- ated from Detroit's most famous high school, Cass Tech. I received my high school diploma at COBO Hall. Regardless of my location today, I live and breath Detroit. Unfortunately, this is not true for many Detroiters. Many locals have little to no pride in the city. I don't blame them. How, do you have pride in your hometown when the mayor is being indicted? How do you love the city where your loved one was senselessly murdered? It's no won- der why many Detroiters quickly make their way to the suburbs. Upon graduation, I didn't want to abandon my hometown, but it seemed unreasonable to stay in a city riddled with unemployment, poverty and crime. It's a shame because I have unconditional love for Detroit. Of all the places I've visited, I felt the greatest pulse from Detroit. With so many people living at or below the poverty line, the residents don't have very much. They can't go out to dinner or visit the-theater or do other high-class activities as frequently as those who occupy the suburbs. In fact, many Detroit only one who said anything when I entered the building. I introduced myself and asked him about himself. i His name is Daniel and he's 13. After he left the room I asked LSA sophomore Riley Linebaugh if he's actually 13. As we began the interview, she quietly explained that he is mal- nourished. After three days talking with the people in Detroit, I finally started to understand the shared learning that occurs between the interns and the communities. In Ann Arbor, I sit at a desk learning from professors. In Detroit, Linebaugh learns from Daniel. She walked me around the small brick building at Clark Park Recre- ation Center. The snow had settled on the adjacent football field and neighborhoods have close com- munities, and they find fun in less expensive ways. I recall as a child, the entire town smelled like bar- beque on Labor Day. It was com- mon to hear popular music filling "How can you expect outsiders to appreciate home if you don't?" the neighborhoods. There was a time when young guys (and some- times girls) would gather together for a rap battle. Belle Isle in the summertime was always a party. These activities still go on, but due to rising pessimism and hard economic times, they are less fre- quent than in previous years. For a while, it seemed like the city wasn't as great as it is. Like many of my classmates in high school, I planned to leave Detroit once I entered the working world. Many wanted to leave Michigan all together, but I just wanted to move to the suburbs. The glam- our of places like Grosse Pointe, Rochester and Birmingham drew my attention. Everyone who has the grey goal posts jut up out of the snow, filling the empty space. A few people ambled across the park's worn ice rink as a mother drops two girls off at the front door. Linebaugh began to tell me about her first few days in the city. How, at first, she read all the safe- ty handbooks and walked rigidly down the street, averting eye con- tact. But then she began smiling and interacting with people. She started to feel disconnected from Ann Arbor and now can't even fathom that people are walking through the Diag as she is walking through the streets of Detroit. Her father, a professor, was con- cerned that Linebaugh would be hurt by her time not spent in the library. But it's been outside of the class- room, through her involvement with Clark Park Recreation Center lived in Detroit has visited at least one suburb (you really can't avoid it) and knows how better look- ing they are. I remember going to a Subway in Dearborn with my uncle. Upon crossing the street separating Dearborn from Detroit, I immediately noticed the build- ings looked better kept in Dear- born and the graffiti didn't leave Detroit. Sometimes while travel- ing, I have to ask what city I am in, but I can always tell when I'm entering Detroit from a suburb. I have also been to other cities across the United States. I've been to Chicago, San Diego, Sandusky and Columbus, your but the trip that stands out in my mind is Houston, Texas. My first trip to Houston was in 2002. I was 12, and it was a vacation to visit my family there. I fell in love with Houston during that trip. Despite the unbearable Texas heat, I had a great time with my aunts, uncles and older cousins. For a long time after that I had as much love, if not more, for Houston as I did for Detroit. This was until we went again in 2007 - don't get me wrong, it was great. Yet, I was homesick. My family was with me on the trip, but I was longing to return home. Once our plane landed, I had a great urge to kiss the ground. My first thought was: "Other cities may be nice, but Detroit is where I belong." I knew I loved Detroit. where Linebaugh has felt her voice develop. It holds more weight, she says. Despite having spent the past seven years of her life in Ann Arbor, Linebaugh hadn't spent much time in Detroit. She'd only been to the Detroit Institute of Art to view her favorite mural, Detroit Industry, painted by Diego Rivera. Because of her experience in the city, that mural has come alive. Now she thinks constantly about the auto industry and about the economy of Detroit. She wonders how it will affect the city, how it's going to affect Clark Park, how it's goingto affect Daniel. "These are the people that I'm not learning about in my class- rooms (in Ann Arbor)," Linebaugh said. "We talk in a lot of my classes about negative space - what's Conversely, one of my cousins from Houston was here during this past winter break. My cousin and I decided to give him a tour of the city. The tour was a disap- pointment in two ways. First, we only gave him a tour of down- town Detroit. Though the great tourist attractions in Detroit are located downtown, it's only a por- tion of the entire city. Detroit is more than just downtown. Sec- ond, my cousin, our tour guide, held very little pride in the city, and it showed in the tour. Nothing seemed great about the area. I had actually never been to Greektown before, and was in awe of how beautiful it was. It was like a min- iature, Greek-themed Las Vegas, but my cousin made it as exciting as a fire hydrant. This tour solidified what I already felt. Whether it's Detroit, Ann Arbor, Seattle, Newark, Toronto, London or Beijing, every- one should have pride in his or her hometown. How can you expect outsiders to appreciate your home if you don't? How can an area be so relevant to your life and you have no love for it? Whether you move around a lot or have been in the same place since birth, there is one place that has contributed most to your identity. That place deserves your gratitude. I would be a completely different person if I hadn't grown up in Detroit. Therefore, in loving myself, I also love the Motor City. -Alexis Smith is an LSA Junior missing in the academic curricu- lum or what's missing in the book you're reading," she said. "I think Detroit's voice is what's been miss- ing in my personal curriculum. Coming here is not going to fill that negative space because it's an enormous city, and I'm never going to be able to know all of it. "But I'm going to start being able to fill in some of that negative space." For the 19 students who are now engaged in this experience, not one would trade places with a stu- dent studying in Europe or South America this semester. Ask them to explain why and their words wouldn't do it justice. But ask them to describe an experience, and they each can speak of moments that have changed their lives and have seen that change in a city that has been written off by most.