Training Week

Welcome back all!  It's a new year, with new goals and new interns.  After selecting new interns for the year, we quickly got started with a very informational training week.

Day 1: We all arrive to the same location to begin learning about each other, and begin our team building activities.  We also learned the history of East Lansing. After lunch the "gringling" began.  Gringling consists of greeting and mingling.  We would later find out that gringling is a very integral part of being an intern at the CRC.

Day 2: To start the day, we met at City Hall to meet with East Lansing Fire Marshal Bob Pratt.  We were educated on many common fire issues that no one really notices. We then met Police Chief Tom Wibert to learn about the community and the relation between the community and the university.  After lunch, we traveled up to The Department of Public Works to learn about its role in keeping the community functioning- getting the details about recycling within the community.

Day 3: This day consisted of meeting many important figures within the community.  There are many to talk about but it consisted of meeting and talking with the city board to understand what goes on behind the scenes of the city, and truly find out how the community feels about itself.

Day 4: My favorite day by far.  It consisted of all team building at an off-site location.  It was in the middle of the woods, where we had to work together under many different scenarios in order to accomplish a goal.  Some of the tasks included wall climbs, being "imprisoned" with ropes, and high ropes course.  All proved to be demanding of our wit and cooperation.  A very long day to say the least.

Day 5: Our last day. To sum it up, we talked about financial policies within the CRC to help us get a better understanding of where it comes from.  It was a bunch of small business info that is important to us, but not many others.  After that we were done and graduated!

Happy Spartan Spring!

The crazy end of the year is finally upon us again. We are all scrambling to tie up loose ends with final projects and papers. I will be closing out my CRC internship along with my MSU career, which is a lot to swallow. Six of the other interns will also be graduating. This definitely does not mean that us CRC interns have abandoned our mission. We have been working in different group projects this semester.

My project involves a book drive to one of the East Lansing Public Schools, Donley Elementary. They have been participating in a book drive for a couple of years in order to keep the students reading throughout the summer even if they do not have the means to. We will help this year with the drive and end with a final Book Bingo event on Thursday, May 6th from 6- 7:30 p.m. We will be using all of the books that we raised to pass out to the kids as they win games of bingo. There will be pizza and other fun activities for the parents as well as the kids. It should be a fun and effective event. If any of you have books to donate, please do! More information on where to drop off books will be given later.

Another project that is occurring is an Earth Day clean up on Monday, April 4th from 4-7 pm. We will be meeting at the Bailey Community Center. It will be a mixture of student life, involving the Greek Life, and other permanent residents. It will be a wonderful way to interact and make the city of East Lansing a better place to live!

The third group will be participating in a green initiative. On Friday April 23rd, CRC members, and other members from organizations around MSU, will be passing out energy efficient light bulbs to residents in East Lansing. It is a great way to keep pushing efficiency in the city we live in.

Overall, CRC interns are working on some great projects. We will keep you updated on all of the progress made!

Go Green!

Apply for this Internship!

Hey everyone,

I hope you’ve all been enjoying the wonderful weather and took pride in the Spectacular Spartan victory last Sunday. In the midst of March Madness, the Community Relations Coalition is diving into the search for next year’s interns. As a graduating senior intern, I have only great things to say about the work I’ve done with the CRC. I’m always going to cherish the memories I have of hanging out with my fellow interns, volunteering to make the city a better place, and building connections with city officials and long-term residents. This internship has been a fantastic experience that has helped me develop numerous skills that I will take on to graduate school and my professional arena. My internship with the CRC also greatly bolstered my network at MSU, giving me connections to people across the university and the city of East Lansing.

As someone who will surely miss this internship, I highly suggest that you consider applying to the internship for next year. In order to do so, you only have to meet a few requirements: you have to be a junior or senior in the Fall of 2010, be living off campus for the 2010-2011 academic year, and be in good academic standing. If you meet those requirements, you are eligible to apply for this internship, which (aside from the wonderful experience you will gain) includes a financial remuneration. Go to www.wealllivehere.org in order to find the application materials.

Take care,
Go Green!

ASMSU Gathering

ASMSU has been a vital ally to our organization, to the MSU campus, and to the greater community in general. They graciously invited us to attend a community reception held at Dublin Square Pub. Many of the CRC interns, including myself, jumped at this opportunity.
At the event, there were representatives from the City of East Lansing, the East Lansing Police Department, Community Relations Coalition, ASMSU, and MSU administration. President Lou Anna K. Simon was even there! To kick off the night, there were DELICIOUS appetizers with light mingling among the attendees. I, personally, was able to catch up with some members from the CRC Board that I had not seen in many weeks.
We were all quickly seated at our assigned tables. At the tables, there was an assortment of different ages, perspectives, and positions. This was a great idea that ASMSU had. Many times, the CRC interns tend to stay together (because we get along so well!). But, with the assigned seating, it gave us the opportunity to branch out and get to know other members of our community. We were given some conversation points to help us delve into the larger topics of possible events, goals, and initiatives that could help create a strong community in East Lansing.
It was a great way to organize the event. At my table, we discussed mostly environmental initiatives. We talked about the importance to involve all sectors of the populations in order to truly gain a sense of unity, meaning the Michigan State students, the university professors and staff, the permanent residents, and the children. There was the idea of a community garden to involve everyone in a beneficial way in social capital, environmental sustainability, and educational reasons. We also discussed how all of our connections could really create something great that has an impact for years to come. I was excited to see the passion other people have for this city; it was inspiring!
Throughout the discussion, we were able to eat a fantastic gourmet dinner. After dinner was cleared up, ASMSU had two mediators to break into a large group discussion of goals and their feasibility. It was interesting to hear what all the other tables talked about. There was a lot of emphasis placed on the economic regression in East Lansing and how people should want to stay in the city. I am interested to see how far these talks will go and hopefully many of these goals will become a reality. This was one of my favorite events that we were able to attend as a group. It for sure was an amazing way to get away from college cooking! The excellent conversation was a bonus.

Go White,
Kanika

Valentine's Day

Happy Snow Day!
The season of love, happiness, flowers, and celebration is upon us. CRC got the opportunity to volunteer at the Bailey Community Center Valentine’s Day Party. I had no idea what to expect, but I made sure to wear my pink heart headband!
A few of the CRC members baked heart-shaped cookies for the decorating station. The sugar cookies turned out great and were a hit at the party. There was also a card making station. It was a lot of fun to interact with the families of the Bailey neighborhood. Throughout out year with CRC, we have gotten the opportunity to congregate with many permanent residents, but they all seem to be the adults. This was one of the first times that we were able to play and laugh with the younger children. Personally, I adore children so I loved every minute of it!
The children were happily content with anything and everything that happened at the party. Our main event was a “bubbleologist”. His performance was great! I cannot believe the things he was doing with bubbles. My favorite was the ‘volcano bubble’ that released smoke. I was just as entertained as the children. Next week we have the Spaghetti dinner at Marble Elementary School. It is another chance for us to hang out with the children. I cannot wait!

Go green!

Spartans Agains Drunk Driving Forum

Hey everyone,

This was a really exciting weekend for the CRC. Not only did we participate in the Holiday Coat Drive and the Winter Bowl, our partners over at Spartans Against Drunk Driving held their annual forum in the Wonders Kiva on Sunday evening. The scene was quite serious as various speakers from the East Lansing community talked about how drunk driving has influenced them. Two MSU graduates recounted their tales. One of them was hit by a drunk driver, had to have pieces of windshield surgically removed from his face, spent months in physical therapy relearning how to walk, and is now a speaker for Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Multiple East Lansing and MSU police officers recounted tales of arresting drunk drivers or reporting to the scene of a drunken driving crash. Mayor Vic Loomis was the keynote speaker. He recounted an anti-drunk driving commercial where a home video shows a high school cross-country runner winning a race and then the screen goes blank and says that a drunk-driver killed the runner and her family in a crash shortly after the video wash taken. He cited MSU social norm statistics to show that SADD is making an impact, such as “81% of MSU students choose to use a designated driver” and “74% of MSU students choose not to drink and drive after having just one drink.”
The Forum could not have come at a better time. Mothers Against Drunk Driving just announced a few weeks ago that Governor Paterson of New York signed drunk driving legislation for his state. This legislation requires ignition interlock systems for those who have been convicted of drinking and driving. An ignition interlock is essentially a breathalyzer that is integrated into the ignition system of a car. When a person attempts to turn on their car, they have to give a breath sample, which is measured for blood alcohol content (BAC). If that BAC is over the legal limit, the car will not start. New York is the twelfth state in the US to pass legislation of this sort. The legislation also makes drunk driving with a child in the car a felony. This is based on the line of reasoning that a person who makes the decision to drink and drive with a child in the car puts that child in danger, and unlike an adult, that child might not have the option to stop the driver or leave. I am proud of New York for passing legislation of this sort. Through my work with Spartans Against Drunk Driving, I have lobbied countless Representatives and Senators to pass similar legislation in Michigan, but the bill was stalled in a past session of the legislature.
I expect that one day our legislature will pass a bill of this sort, and help protect us from people who drink and drive, and ultimately make terribly regrettable decisions.
I hope you have all enjoyed my blogs throughout the semester, as this will likely be my final one for 2009.

Take care.

Go White!
Mike Berkowitz
CRC Intern

Sam Singh Event

Hey everyone!
The semester is edging towards the end, which brings projects, exams, papers, and among all: stress. However, the CRC interns were able to set one night aside and get together at Grand Traverse Pie Company (YUM!) and have a conversation with former mayor, Sam Singh. Each intern was granted the ability to invite one guest from the East Lansing community to join in our discussion. It was an enlightening talk about the challenges of maintaining multiculturalism within the city of East Lansing. Sam Singh has a lot of insight, because he recently returned from a world tour where he traveled to over 25 countries in sixteen months.

We discussed issues such as economic downfalls in East Lansing and Michigan overall, the education system, volunteerism, and Michigan State study abroad programs. Through our conversation, we all were able to discuss specific issues we face in East Lansing and ideas of potential solutions. It seems that this type of open discourse is necessary when dealing with problems of discrimination or inclusion. There also needs to be more of an emphasis on learning about other cultures that surround us either through going abroad, being involved in another type of educational international course, or even participating in some sort of pen pal program. It was really fun to discuss such serious issues that us, as CRC interns, need to strengthen ties within our multicultural community.
The night ended with our stomachs full of pie and our minds stirring with good conversation. It was an honor for Sam Singh to take time out of his life in order to talk with us. It was truly enlightening and one of my favorite CRC events yet!

Have a happy Thanksgiving and if you have any used or new coats, don’t forget to bring them back with you for the Coat Drive this Friday!

Go Green,
Kanika