September 23
From 21CC Wiki
Rough notes from September 23, 2009 (please add your notes and additional thoughts!):
Check-in: Melissa introduces the concept; Vincent discusses the possibility of “riffs.” Jeremy leads us off in check-in: He went on a bike tour of Detroit with 5,000 other bikers, through both the rich and poor neighborhoods. Melissa discussed a magazine her typography class studied that presented Detroit as sophisticated and elegant. Most students assumed it was Chicago being shown. Perceptions have changed! Vincent goes from perceptions to the Lansing River Trail, known to students as the Rape Trail. There’s never been a recorded rape on this trail! This may be a misperception because of neighborhood demographics. Dave: Detroit’s “brand” as an awful place. There’s an attempt to re-brand: D Brand. Karen asked those of us who grew up in another state to share our perceptions of Michigan. What did we think of when we learned we would be moving here? What did our friends think? Detroit: Murder Capital of the USA? Downtown Detroit is actually safer than Somerset Collection, the fancy mall just outside the city. “Instead of making the streets safe for everyone, we’re telling everyone to stay off the streets.” (Patti Rogers) Michigan is so much more than Detroit: The UP! Radically different. Alexis stayed at a hostel in Harlem. All was well until they saw two kids get jumped. They did, however, still feel good about being white in Harlem. Carlee: Her RCAH Class read some materials about the Midwest – it’s gone from the Industrial Powerhouse to nothing. She wished she’d had more Chautauqua time to bring hopeful examples to that class. Erin is from Wyoming; her friends tried to dissuade her from coming to Michigan. Kendra is from Grand Rapids and is going to ArtPrize, a competition in Grand Rapids that spreads statues and innovative art projects. It has the largest art prize of its kind ($250000). You can go to Art Prize’s website and vote for your favorite! John “riffed” on the Devos and VanAndel families. Grand Rapids is probably the best big city in Michigan today, largely thanks to the monies of these two families. Art Prize includes a famous, quirky artist who will be throwing a bunch of paper airplanes off a building. He also does things like city-wide chalking Laura: The Promise Grant is looking to move the last $2000 of the award to Michigan tax credits. Nicole: Richard Florida: “The Rise of the Creative Class.” If we are to change the world’s perceptions of Michigan, we must first change our own. John: Came from a meeting about consolidated neighborhoods and school systems. Becca: Should the State of Michigan be giving more money to CMU than U of M and MSU because more of CMU’s students stay in Michigan? John riffs – what about Lake Superior, Northern Michigan, and Michigan Tech? We have ~13 universities in the state…can we hold on to all of them? Can we fund them? Vincent’s riff: “How do you develop a knowledge economy with no knowledge?” Dave: Perhaps we should look at the economic worth of Michigan State Anne: Grand Rapids is not the only place! Kalamazoo and the Kalamazoo Promise! The only way some kids could go to college. She’s offended in many ways by the Michigan Promise. Karen: Question – why does the legislature cut education? Are they ignorant or unaware? Becca: Very long-term benefits for Kalamazoo: middle class folks are staying in/moving to the city! Carlee: But kids who have full rides from the Kalamazoo Promise have been dropping out? How do we ensure they’re taking full advantage of it? Anne responds with the fact that Kalamazoo Public Schools aren’t properly preparing kids for college! Nada: The Michigan Promise tax credit does something similar. It helps Michigan make sure that its investment is staying in the state. Jeremy: The Promise Scholarship was officially cut today! Note: your representatives and your senators are really scared of your phone calls. “Don’t cut my education. It makes me pissed. And I vote.” Vincent: It may be interesting to examine other states. It’s not like we’re the first state to face a budget crisis! Sarah suggests that we call President Simon’s office to discuss budget cuts on the university as well.
Quick Announcements: Trip to Detroit October 10. Transportation is covered for everyone; student lunches will be covered as well. We’ll be visiting things like the Russell Industrial Center (see September 16), talking with folks (artists and entrepreneurs, etc.), and seeing the creative economic development happening in Detroit! Email Dave Sheridan (sherid16@msu.edu) with questions and to RSVP. The Chautauqua is cosponsoring a film with the RCAH Film Series. “Craftsman Style” tells the story of a community-centered individual who works to revitalize old buildings. Come see just how creative plumbers can be! Shane and Dave (filmmaker and restorationist) will both be present to speak with students. September 30, 2009, 7-9 pm in the RCAH Auditorium. This is also a great opportunity for anyone interested in filmmaking – Dave and Shane are very open with talking about the difficulties in creating the film and how they overcame issues to make a beautiful documentary.
Karen Gagnon, director of the Michigan Cool Cities spoke about the Cool Cities Initiative. Richard Florida and several other economic big-guns spoke at a conference Governor Granholm attended; from their words came a thought about how to diversify. Michigan is losing young people like crazy. And there’s a big sense of entitlement still present from the factory days. The “What is cool?” initiative was born. Surveys were completed. The governor created a grant program to get money to help cities become cool. Catalyst neighborhood projects were started. This is changing perceptions! Michigan moved from 24th to 17th in a “New Economy” ranking. Creative economy experts want to come into Michigan! Detroit is the “last urban frontier.” Being a “Cool City” is a source of pride. How can we better spread the initiative and make sure more folks know about it?
Eric: What relationship does Cool Cities have with education? And why isn’t Teach for America in Detroit? Becca: Teach for American won’t go into a city unless invited. Because Detroit’s school systems are getting slashed, Detroit teaching jobs are decreasing. Teach for America doesn’t want to send in teachers where local experienced teachers are being laid off.
Michigan’s Geography: Suburb kids feel like they don’t have an identity – they were scared to go to Detroit, but flee like to other big cities because they have no rural roots. Many kids who have grown up in rural Michigan love it! There’s a lot of diversity here.
Websites suggested by Karen Gagnon of the Cool Cities Initiative:
