CJAMPUS LIFE
Student org
brings the
The alleyway between
Momo Tea and Insomnia
Cookies was filled with stu-
dents on Friday, but they
weren't standing outside to
buy tea or cookies they were
hanging around to get a taste
of Detroit.
Crowd 313, a student-run
organization that seeks to
better connect University
students with cultural and
entrepreneurial offerings in
Detroit, kicked off their first
event with the 2013 Detroit
Sound Fest at Eat the Hub, a
new food-cart development
on South University Avenue.
The event brought the
Motor City to Ann Arbor
with Detroit bands and food
in hopes of improving the
city's reputation among the
University community.
The Sound Fest featured
four Detroit musicians,
including The Hand in the
Ocean, Kickstand Band,
Little Animal and DJs Man-
uel Gonzalez and Conor
Mendenhall. Food was also
available from Detroit and
Ann Arbor-based vendors,
including The Beetbox
Cheese Dream, Cafe Con
Leche, El Manantial and
Hut-K Nutrilicious.
Art & Design junior Matt
Rosner, executive of Crowd
313, said the biggest goal of
the event was to engage stu-
dents with a positive Detroit
experience despite pervasive
negative media coverage.
"Everyone has a different
perception of Detroit, but
overall it is a negative view,"
Rosner said.
Jordan Evans, a musician
in The Hand in the Ocean,
said it's easy for students to
talk negatively about Detroit
because of the city's econom-
ic decline, bankruptcy, aban-
doned buildings and crime.
He said he hopes to show
Detroit's creative side and
motivate students to rethink
their perspective through
the band's music.
"You really have to get past
that thought to see what is
really going on Downtown,"
said Business sophomore Mer-
edith Bury, on-campus event
coordinator for Crowd 313.
Bury added that once stu-
dents see the positive things
Detroit has to offer, it will be
easy for them to change their
view.
Rosner said he was very
optimistic about the turn-
out of the event - despite
the cold - and the future of
Detroit. He said there will
more events in the future to
showcase the city's diverse
opportunities for students,
LSA Freshman Victoria Chochla drops off a gift at the Giving Tree in Cousens Hall. The gifts are given to children of the
Academy of International Studies Charter School in Hamtramck, Michigan.
Couzens proj ect funds
presents for te needy
Health scholars
show that money
can grow on trees
By EMILIE PLESSET
Daily StaffReporter
It's easy to lose track of the
spirit of the season during late-
night cramming for final exams.
However, the University
Health Sciences Scholars Pro-
gram's community service club,
has made it easy to give back to'
the community with its "Giving
Tree" initiative, benefiting stu-
dents ina Detroit-area school.
As a part of the project, the,
organization has decorated a col
umn outside the Couzens Resi-
dence Hall's community center
with 143 holiday light-shaped
tags inscribed with information
on a student from the Academy
of International Studies char-
ter school in Hamtramck, Mich.
Couzens residents can take a tag
off the column and purchase a
present for a student
"We thought it would be a fab-
ulous way to get everyone in the
giving spirit," said LSA freshman
Victoria Chochla, HSSP's com-
munity service representative.
Couzens residents can con-
tinrue to donate gifts through Dec.
once the gift drive closes, club
ers will wrap presents and
se gifts for any remaining
fore delivery to the school
before winter break.
"The school is very happy
that we reached out and part-
nered with them," Chochla said.
"It's really nice because we have
students from the University of
Michigan partnered with stu-
dents from a charter school in
Hamtramck, so you have that stu-
dent connection between older
students and younger students.
It's really nice and it makes the
holidays."
LSA senior Jacqueline Frank-
lin, head of HSSP's community
service club, said manynon-HSSP
Couzens residents, staff and
facilities workers have also par-
ticipated in the gift drive. Out of
the 143 tags posted to the column,
See COUZENS, Page SA
Right from the outset, Detroit
Emergency Financial Manager
Kevyn Orr spoke bluntly and
honestly about the city's condi-
tion.
"itold your applause until
you hear what I have to say," he
said, after being introduced as
the keynote speaker at Friday's
fourth-annual Revitalization &
Business Conference at the Ross
School of Business.
In March, Orr was appointed
by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to
handle Detroit's ongoing bank-
ruptcy proceedings and to create
a sustainable plan for the city's
financial health. On Tuesday, a
federal judge ruled that Detroit
is eligible for bankruptcy - mak-
ing its $18 billion default the larg-
est municipal financial failure
in U.S. history. The city's insol-
vency has caused distress among
Detroit residents, who are coping
with reduced city services. Retir-
ees who worked for the city also
face steep cuts to their pensions,
a sticking point of the judge's rul-
ing.
Orr opened the conference by
giving an overview and progress
report on Detroit's recovery. He
described Detroit as a city criti-
See ORR, Page 5A
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