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Wednesday, July 16, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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Students find communlty, future in Detroit
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City fits many orities"in mind, such as affordable past ten years.
housing and, most importantly,
qualities young employment opportunities, John Community
Mogk, professor at Wayne State helps res
rofessionals find University Law School said.
"All of the qualities for young Growing up,]
important professionals that are important - Detroit in the s
safety, affordable housing, cultural that grew up in
By PAIGE PFLEGER attractions recreation - are all, to was a destinatic
For the Daily some degree, and in some cases to the occasionalr
a large degree, available inthe mid- er Theatre. Itv
TROIT - Detroit is almost town, downtown area of Detroit," that she began,
quare miles in size, large Mogk said. creative outlet -
h to fit Manhattan, San These factors make growing sorts thatcould1
isco, and Boston inside of its areas like Downtown, Midtown, degrees in per
rs. the East Riverfront and various agement andc
ne of those square miles live adjacent neighborhoods like Wood- and social chani
Detroit's reputation. There bridge and Corktown not only Naoum, wh
cant lots, crimes, blight, and livable, but ideally suitedto a demo- spring, joined t
ssed conditions. However, graphic of recent college grads. Arts Project -
mainder that makes up the According to the 2012 Census, gram which all
center could be referred to between2008 and2012 over21,000 unteer in local
almost second Detroit - and 18 to 24-year-olds moved into workshops in D
etroit has been catching stu- Detroit from another city in Michi- ed with the cityt
eyes recently as a city that gan. Nearly the same amount of 25 Partnership, an
enty of benefits for someone to 34-year-olds entered the city as program, and to
ninimal money, an eagerness well, meaning that young people in Detroit, whic
d work and the thirst for a are moving into Detroit, though live, study and'
perience. their level of education is unclear. a semester. By s
A separate figure from the New exactly where
A tale of two cities York Times says that the downtown before she even1
Detroit areahas seenthe numberof The Southw
en choosing a city to start in, college-educated residents under where Naoum n
nethines have soecific ori- the age of 35 go up 59 percent in the borhood marke
y accountability
olveconcerns
Mary Naoum knew
ame way most kids
the suburbs did. It
on for sports, or for
musical at the Fish-
wasn't until college
to see the city as a
- a blank canvas of
be painted with her
forming arts man-
community action
age.
o graduated this
he Prison Creative
a University pro-
ows students to vol-
prisons - and held
etroit. She connect-
through the Detroit
annual University
ok part in Semester
h sends students to
work in the city for
enior year she knew
she wanted to be
had a job lined up.
est side of Detroit,
ow lives, is a neigh-
id by its atmosohere.
A vibrant Mexican culture exists in
the appropriately named Mexican-
town, Hungarian culture thrives
in Delray, and historic homes are
the highlight in Naoum's neighbor-
hood, Hubbard Farms.
Naoum said she was drawn to
the neighborhood because of peo-
ple she knew and the lifestyle that
Southwest offers. There's a com-
munity garden and Clark Park,
which ishome to constant activities
and recreational opportunities.
Above all else, though, Naoum
said she values the community of
people that surrounds her.
"Because safety is an issue in
Detroit, I wanted to live some-
where where the residents are tak-
ing charge of that," she said.
In an effort to supplement the
police department, Hubbard Farms
residents use a community-run tex-
ting group and an e-mail listserv
that is accessible to members of
the community to look out for one
another. One of Naoum's elderly
neighbors can consistently be
found perched on his front porch,
keeping an eye on everyone's com-
ings and goings.
"We watch out for each other
because crime is present, but it
makes me feel much better know-
ing that if I screamed on my block,
there's 5 people who would come
out of their house immediately to
help," she said.
Even though crime is more
prevalent in Detroit than on the
University's campus in Ann Arbor
- according to the FBI 2012 unified
crime report, the city was the sec-
ond most dangerous in the United
States after Flint - she said she
feels safer in Detroit. It might seem
counter-intuitive, but Naoum said
her neighbors are what make all the
difference.
"In Ann Arbor, people are
screaming day in and day out, and
nobody does anything about it
because one, youthink it's someone
being drunk and stupid, or two, at
least when I was in Ann Arbor, I
felt no accountability for my neigh-
bors," she said. "With Detroit, I
think the opposite is true."
Growing a future in Detroit
When Cory Froning was a soph-
omore at the University, she signed
up for Semester in Detroit on a
whim. An Ann Arbor native, her
impression of Detroit was primar-
ily negative - she had heard of the
dangers of the city, the violence
LAWSUIT
From Page 1
suggests.
"We don't believe it's acceptable
that the public is essentially cut
out of these meetings, considering
the law and the bedrock idea that
the public has a right to under-
stand how such an important pub-
lic institution conducts itself," he
said.
This isn't the first time that the
University's meeting practices
have come under scrutiny. In Feb-
ruary, state Rep. Tom McMillin
(R-Rochester Hills) held a hearing
about the public's concerns about
the act during which Herschel
Fink, a member of the Free Press's
legal team, said the University are
"serial abusers of the Open Meet-
ings Act."
McMillin has since introduced
two bills to amend the Act. The
bills would make public officials
ROTC
From Page 1
of us who ever worked inside
her walls knows well that it's
formed a personality all of its
own, full of character and spirit,"
Evans said.
He added that in a sense the
building was a vessel, not for
traveling on water but for the
training of students.
North Hall was built between
1899 and 1900, and is the second-
oldest building on campus still in
use after the President's House.
From 1900 to 1922, the build-
ing served as the University's
Homeopathic Hospital. It then
became the South Department
Hospital after the University
stopped studying homeopathy.
In the early 1940s, the build-
ing was renamed North Hall and
became home to the University's
Navy ROTC program, with the
University's Army and Air Force
ROTC programs joining a decade
later. All three programs relo-
cated to the Chemistry building
last May.
During the ceremony, Evans
highlighted several memorable
moments in North Hall's history.
On December 8, 1941 - the day
after Japan attacked Pearl Har-
bor during World War II - a local
newspaper reported that more
than 100 University students
stood outside the commanding
officer's office to sign up to fight
in the war, he said.
who violate it intentionally crimi-
nally and civilly liable, as well as
clarify that closed meetings are
permissible only about current,
ongoing legislation, not legislation
that's anticipated, as decided in a
recent state Court of Appeals case.
Following University President-.
elect Mark Schlissel's selection
in January, concerns were also
raised on secrecy specifically in
the presidential search process.
All Michigan public universities
have been allowed to conduct
presidential searches in private as
of a 1999 Michigan Supreme Court
decision.
Additionally, in 2010 Univer-
sity alum Robert Davis settled a
case with the University under the
Open Meetings Act over their fail-
ure to hold a public meeting while
discussing an NCAA investigation
of the University's football pro-
gram.
In an e-mail statement Sunday
afternoon, University spokesman
North Hall was also bombed
three times. The first, in June
1969, was felt two miles away
and broke 60 windows, though
nobody was injured.
University alum Captain Phil
Klintworth, an executive con-
sultant at Tetra Tech and former
professor of Naval Science who
also spoke at the event, said in
an interview after the ceremo-
ny that he was surprised there
wasn't more of an effort to pre-
serve North Hall as a historic
landmark. However, he added
that he agreed with the regents'
decision.
"From a practical standpoint, I
mean, the building is old, it cer-
tainly doesn't meet fire codes,
it's very expensive to keep it in
repair," he said. "If I were on the
Board of Regents, I'd probably
make the same call."
Commander Scott Howell,
associate professor of Naval Sci-
ence and Executive Officer of the
University's Naval ROTC Unit,
said before the ceremony that the
event was bittersweet. He added
that moving forward, he would
like to see the University's ROTC
program continue to thrive and
increase its campus visibility.
"I'm proud of our students,"
Howell said. "They're an amaz-
ing bunch of young men and
women who volunteer to serve
the country, go to school - I mean,
this is a tough school to get into, so
they're extremely bright, extreme-
ly intelligent.".
Rick Fitzgerald wrote that the
University has not yet been served
with the lawsuit and therefore
could not comment.
In an interview with The Mich-
igan Daily in February, Fitzgerald
said the University believes that
the regent's meeting practices are
both legal and effective.
"The process that the board
operates under is well-established
and well-grounded in the state
law," Fitzgerald said at the time.
"This has been an effective way to
work and we believe it is compli-
ant with the Open Meetings Act."
Among other public colleges
in Michigan, Wayne State Uni-
versity also held a private presi-
dential search process this year
and Michigan State University
also has conducted sessions of
their governing board in private,
according to The Free Press.
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Special Presentation of
BEE THOVE N
SYM.PHONY No.9
July 22, 2014
Hill Auditorium
Blue Lake International Choir
Alumni Choir and Youth Symphony
July 21, 2014 July 23, 2014
Blue Lake Blue Lake International
International Choir Youth Symphony
Blue Lake International Brahms Symphony
Jazz Orchestra No.1
All Concerts Begin at 7:30 p.m.
More information at bluelake.org/ebl
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
UPPER: A ceremonial bell is rung at the decommissioning ceremony Friday morning, an adaptation from Naval tradition.
MIDDLE: Speakers and honored guests watch the lowering of the flag. LOWER: Members of the ROTC participate in a
color guard ceremony at the decommissioning of North Hall, which had been the home of ROTC for 74 years.