Urban Go-Team-- Janice Joplin (not in Civitas Urban Go-Team) once said, "It's all the same day, man." Well, that's somewhat, but not completely true with the "trash tree" in the partially abandoned Hadley Township area of Richmond Heights. Someone in our 2007 Go-Team took the photo on the left of an unusual tree on Elinor Ave. Mandi Roper (Rosati-Kain, 2010) revisited twenty-three months later and saw that it was "same tree; different trash." Change is not necessarily progress.
The trash tree was just part of what we saw last Saturday. You can check out a number of student and staff photos by clicking here. Congratulations to the sixteen Urban Go-Team students who participated in Saturday Session #2.
Some students hit the pavement of the Maplewood downtown area on Manchester for polling and a unique scavenger hunt. Others studied the Hadley Township neighborhood in Richmond Heights, an area where residents were promised large buy-outs of their homes by a developer, but due to a variety of circumstances the residents have been left "holding the bag."
Special thanks to to Maplewood-Richmond Heights aficianados Richmond Heights City Councilwoman Gina Mitten and her husband, Nelson Mitten, who serves on the Maplewood-Richmond Heights School Board. They provided very valuable information to students in a seminar that concluded the morning. We will be following up on their leads and pursuing more information in the area.
The summer Urban Go-Team session is Monday, June 8 - Friday, June 12. We will meet each day at 8:45 AM and end at 3:30 PM. The base of our operations will be the Brentwood Community Center, 2505 So. Brentwood; 63144 (map). Enrollment for Urban Go-Team is filled. |
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Students interview Hadley Township residents (left). Gina and Nelson Mitten describe community issues and proposed solutions (right). |
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Pulitzer Area-Wide Essay Winners |
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It was not easy for the Pulitzer staff in Washington, DC to select essay winners for the two high school categories, seniors and undergraduates. There were a number of outstanding essays.
The topic was "What are the similarities and differences between the issues of abuse and violence towards women and children in our local community and those in countries such as Nepal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Iraq?"
The winner in the senior division is Haroon Ikram of Soldan International Studies High School. The winner in the undergraduate division is Hope Bretscher, a sophomore at Parkway West High School. Congratulations to both! |
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Hope Bretscher (Parkway West, 2011) and Haroon Ikram (Soldan, 2009), area winners of the Pulitzer Spring 2009 Essay Contest. Click here to read their essays. |
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Recent Civitas Newspaper Articles |
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Great Comment from Dan Duffy on Survey Results reported last Thursday.
"Sometimes the polls are wrong. It would appear that might be the case here. It's astounding to see any sample of folks respond that their personal financial status is equal to or better than what it was four years ago after the last 18 Months of economic turmoil. The poll results may have been impacted by the age of folks interviewed and many other factors to include the fact that slightly more than half the country has access to a 401K program at Work (and higher visibility to their economic standing)." Click here to read entire comment. |
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Video Games to Eliminate Malaria |
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Thanks to U. City freshman Luke Babich and Aimee Mapes of Legal Advocates for Abused Women who informed us that indeed there is an on-line video game site where money is raised to fight malaria. It is at www.freerice.com. |
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Congratulations to Rocco Landesman |
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Congratulations to long-time Civitas friend and supporter Rocco Landesman who has been nominated by President Barack Obama to become chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Rocco is native St. Louisan who has become a most successful Broadway producer and entrepreneur. You can read more about him in Bob Duffy' (also long-time Civitas friend and supporter) article in The Beacon. Rocco and his wife, Deb, have also been very strong supporters of the Pulitzer Global Gateway Program. Perhaps Rocco's greatest contributions to Civitas have been his strong commitment to civil liberties and his wonderful sense of humor that has kept us in our place more than once. If you're playing the "Great St. Louis High School Game," Rocco graduated from Clayton High School in 1965; Deb graduated from Visitation Academy circa 1966. |
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Upcoming Civitas Events
Black: High School Blue: Middle School |
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Date | Time | Place | Activity | Mon.,
06/08/2009 -
Fri.
06/12/2009 | 9:00 AM -
3:30 PM | Varies | Urban Go-Team | Mon.,
06/15/2009 | 6:00 PM -
7:00 PM | St. Louis County
Library (map) | Prep Session for DC Trip --
Students and Parents Invited | Mon.
07/13/2009 -
Tues.,
07/14/2009 | All-day | Washington, DC | Pulitzer Ambassador Trip
to Washington, DC |
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What's Civitas? See video below: |
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Civitas simulation on "Carefully Getting out
of Iraq"
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Civitas: Some Bull; Some Bias
Hopefully not too much self-serving promotion. |
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