Hey everyone,
I’m really excited to tell you about an awesome dinner date I had this week. The Mayor Pro Tem, Diane Goddeeris, and I had a chance to go to Dublin Square and get to know each other. Diane works part time as the Mayor Pro Tem, and full-time as a nurse at Sparrow Hospital. I find it extremely beneficial that serving on the East Lansing City Council is a part time commitment, even for the Mayor. That way, people with widely diverse backgrounds and expertise are able to be a part of the council, such as Diane who is a nurse or Victor Loomis who is a business owner.
I have been particularly interested in East Lansing recycling since I started on as a CRC intern, and my meeting with Diane provided a great opportunity to learn more about it. Diane said that although she is really proud of East Lansing’s recycling, there are still problems with the current system that need to be addressed. One of those markets has to do with corporate offices and businesses recycling programs in East Lansing. Diane said that many businesses create large amounts of waste that could be recycled but often have only one common trash due to the inconvenience of recycling. Also, many businesses in East Lansing don’t recycle because they yield too much material to contain and manage in recycle bins. Diane suggested that it might be worth looking at special recycling programs for businesses that face this problem.
Another problem is that the market for recycled materials has decreased in response to the economic recession. When there is less demand for those materials, municipalities often lessen their initiatives to increase recycling, as well as programs to recycle different types of materials, because there is no economic incentive driving it. Diane suggested that maybe we shouldn’t view recycling as a business. We should do it because it is morally the right thing to do, and thus, continue expanding recycling during times when the market does not dictate so. I absolutely agree with her, and have always felt that we view the environment as too much of a business/economic resource. Jean Heglend, author of Into the Forest, argues that we often take our natural resources for granted, and that we might not be able to survive if they were gone. For reasons like these, I think we need to have a better relationship with our environment, which includes recycling outside of market demands.
I hope that throughout my time as a CRC intern, I get an opportunity to make a difference in some arena of environmental relations with the city of East Lansing.
Go Green!
Mike Berkowitz
CRC Intern
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
CRC Intern Tailgate
Hey everyone,
I hope you’ve been surviving the cold and wet weather that seemed to sneak up on us this so quickly. It sure has been a worthy adversary this week for many of us interns at the CRC working on our away game tailgate. During the week, Kelsey (another intern) and I walked up and down the 500 and 600 blocks of Cornell, Stoddard, and Spartan Ave in order to advertise for the event. We talked to many residents in the area, letting them know what the CRC is and inviting them to our tailgate. Aside from getting soaked in the rain, we had a blast meeting all of the neighbors.
The tailgate itself turned out great. We had the East Lansing City Council pass a resolution to allow us to block off the 500 block of Cornell Ave. With the block shut down, we had some music going, we grilled up burgers and hot dogs, played football in the street, and talked with local residents. The tailgate was a great opportunity for people in the community to meet each other, especially neighbors in the area. City Council member Kevin Beard came to support us and had many good things to say about the CRC. I got an opportunity to talk with him about the recent budget issues in the state congress and discussed how that would influence East Lansing and MSU. I was surprised to find out that only a small portion of East Lansing’s budget comes from taxes.
All in all, we had a blast while taking away some worthwhile conversation, and hopefully developed some new and meaningful relationships. On top of that, MSU stomped all over the Fighting Illini, making it the perfect Saturday of tailgating and football.
If you happen to be around, come visit us at the housing fair this Wednesday from noon to 4pm. The CRC will be there hanging out so make sure to stop by and say hi.
Go White!
Mike Berkowitz
CRC Intern
I hope you’ve been surviving the cold and wet weather that seemed to sneak up on us this so quickly. It sure has been a worthy adversary this week for many of us interns at the CRC working on our away game tailgate. During the week, Kelsey (another intern) and I walked up and down the 500 and 600 blocks of Cornell, Stoddard, and Spartan Ave in order to advertise for the event. We talked to many residents in the area, letting them know what the CRC is and inviting them to our tailgate. Aside from getting soaked in the rain, we had a blast meeting all of the neighbors.
The tailgate itself turned out great. We had the East Lansing City Council pass a resolution to allow us to block off the 500 block of Cornell Ave. With the block shut down, we had some music going, we grilled up burgers and hot dogs, played football in the street, and talked with local residents. The tailgate was a great opportunity for people in the community to meet each other, especially neighbors in the area. City Council member Kevin Beard came to support us and had many good things to say about the CRC. I got an opportunity to talk with him about the recent budget issues in the state congress and discussed how that would influence East Lansing and MSU. I was surprised to find out that only a small portion of East Lansing’s budget comes from taxes.
All in all, we had a blast while taking away some worthwhile conversation, and hopefully developed some new and meaningful relationships. On top of that, MSU stomped all over the Fighting Illini, making it the perfect Saturday of tailgating and football.
If you happen to be around, come visit us at the housing fair this Wednesday from noon to 4pm. The CRC will be there hanging out so make sure to stop by and say hi.
Go White!
Mike Berkowitz
CRC Intern
Friday, October 9, 2009
Clean up and Tailgate!
Hey!
The CRC ice cream socials are officially done! Who would’ve thought I would miss those tubs of ice cream so much. It is also that time of the year that could make students shiver campus wide: MIDTERM WEEK. So every nook has been taken over by students who realize, “wow, I have been in school for HOW long?!”. I always say that I can only comprehend that there are 40,000 students at MSU until exam periods. I walk into a library and just sigh.
Besides the great studying that will be done this coming weekend makes me think of last weekend. These past couple of days has reminded me how great it is to be a Spartan. With the defeat of our biggest rivals, University of Michigan, joy and pride filled our hearts. For some reason, this joy and pride translated to trash and litter on the streets of East Lansing. We had our second football clean up on the Sunday after the game. It was a bigger success than the first, which was very exciting! We got people from different organizations, such as C.A.R.E. on campus, and also residents that read about it in the newspaper. It took a little over an hour and it was all done! Spirits were still high from the heart-gripping game the day before, which helped our success. However, I believe the rain and cold may have deterred some would-be participants. We did get a much better turn-up though!
This Saturday, Michigan State is playing away at Illinois. CRC will be holding an “Away Game Tailgate” that will take place on the 500 block of Cornell Street. If anyone is interesting in watching the game, eating some food, and getting to know other East Lansing residents, please come over around 10 a.m.! It should be a good time to represent our college with some CRC fun! Have a wonderful weekend!
Go Green,
Kanika
The CRC ice cream socials are officially done! Who would’ve thought I would miss those tubs of ice cream so much. It is also that time of the year that could make students shiver campus wide: MIDTERM WEEK. So every nook has been taken over by students who realize, “wow, I have been in school for HOW long?!”. I always say that I can only comprehend that there are 40,000 students at MSU until exam periods. I walk into a library and just sigh.
Besides the great studying that will be done this coming weekend makes me think of last weekend. These past couple of days has reminded me how great it is to be a Spartan. With the defeat of our biggest rivals, University of Michigan, joy and pride filled our hearts. For some reason, this joy and pride translated to trash and litter on the streets of East Lansing. We had our second football clean up on the Sunday after the game. It was a bigger success than the first, which was very exciting! We got people from different organizations, such as C.A.R.E. on campus, and also residents that read about it in the newspaper. It took a little over an hour and it was all done! Spirits were still high from the heart-gripping game the day before, which helped our success. However, I believe the rain and cold may have deterred some would-be participants. We did get a much better turn-up though!
This Saturday, Michigan State is playing away at Illinois. CRC will be holding an “Away Game Tailgate” that will take place on the 500 block of Cornell Street. If anyone is interesting in watching the game, eating some food, and getting to know other East Lansing residents, please come over around 10 a.m.! It should be a good time to represent our college with some CRC fun! Have a wonderful weekend!
Go Green,
Kanika
Monday, September 28, 2009
Red Cedar Ice Cream Social
Hey everyone,
Another week has gone by and life is getting busy for many of us. You know the school year has officially started when you can’t call your friends from 9-10pm on Thursday because they are either watching Grey’s Anatomy or the Office. But you also know its fall semester when the CRC hosts ice cream socials! This Wednesday, the CRC welcomed students, city leaders, and long-term residents to Red Cedar elementary school for some MSU dairy store ice cream to mix and mingle. All of us interns hit the streets to recruit residents from the nearby neighborhoods to come out and meet each other. I think a lot of us were proud of the strong turnout from the long-term residents in the community, setting a great example for the rest of East Lansing to follow. I think it’s safe to say that once again, Buckeye Blitz was the favorite flavor among the crowd.
Personally, I had an opportunity to speak with City Council members Roger Peters and Nathan Triplett at the ice cream social. In particular, we spoke about the City Council’s recent accomplishment of passing a resolution to support Representative Meadow’s medical amnesty bill. The bill aims to allow minors who have consumed alcohol to call paramedics if medical attention is needed without facing legal ramifications. The issue seems really important to pass, especially from the perspective of a college student. Aside from talking politics, I was pleasantly surprised by how down to Earth both city council members were. I think a lot of people see politicians as being high and mighty members of a separate and elite echelon of citizens. Council members Peters and Triplett are great examples of how incorrect that line of thought truly is.
Now that our ice cream socials have come to an end, we get a quick break from the action. But we are right back at it a week from this Sunday when we host a football clean up. Come meet us at the East Lansing Police Department, Sunday October 4th at 10:30am for some doughnuts, juice, and an opportunity to make East Lansing a cleaner, more vibrant community.
Until then, remember that We All Live Here.
Go White!
Mike Berkowitz
CRC Intern
Another week has gone by and life is getting busy for many of us. You know the school year has officially started when you can’t call your friends from 9-10pm on Thursday because they are either watching Grey’s Anatomy or the Office. But you also know its fall semester when the CRC hosts ice cream socials! This Wednesday, the CRC welcomed students, city leaders, and long-term residents to Red Cedar elementary school for some MSU dairy store ice cream to mix and mingle. All of us interns hit the streets to recruit residents from the nearby neighborhoods to come out and meet each other. I think a lot of us were proud of the strong turnout from the long-term residents in the community, setting a great example for the rest of East Lansing to follow. I think it’s safe to say that once again, Buckeye Blitz was the favorite flavor among the crowd.
Personally, I had an opportunity to speak with City Council members Roger Peters and Nathan Triplett at the ice cream social. In particular, we spoke about the City Council’s recent accomplishment of passing a resolution to support Representative Meadow’s medical amnesty bill. The bill aims to allow minors who have consumed alcohol to call paramedics if medical attention is needed without facing legal ramifications. The issue seems really important to pass, especially from the perspective of a college student. Aside from talking politics, I was pleasantly surprised by how down to Earth both city council members were. I think a lot of people see politicians as being high and mighty members of a separate and elite echelon of citizens. Council members Peters and Triplett are great examples of how incorrect that line of thought truly is.
Now that our ice cream socials have come to an end, we get a quick break from the action. But we are right back at it a week from this Sunday when we host a football clean up. Come meet us at the East Lansing Police Department, Sunday October 4th at 10:30am for some doughnuts, juice, and an opportunity to make East Lansing a cleaner, more vibrant community.
Until then, remember that We All Live Here.
Go White!
Mike Berkowitz
CRC Intern
Monday, September 21, 2009
Fall Clean Up and Ice Cream
Hello again!
I cannot believe that we are at the brink of October! Our first football game against the school down the street, Central Michigan University, was quite a failure. But, luckily the CRC football clean up the following Sunday was a great success. There was a pretty decent turnout for an early morning. It seemed that most participants were students; hopefully at the next cleanup (after the Michigan game) we can push for more permanent residents too! It really awesome to see how little time it took to make our community look better. We enjoyed donuts and orange juice as well!
We had our second ice cream social in the Bailey neighborhood. We were all presently surprised with the diversity of attendants! It was a great chance to meet people outside of my neighborhood (Oakhill). The ice cream always helps too! I am now well aware that Buckeye Blitz is amazing. Our last ice cream social will take place in the Red Cedar neighborhood. The past two have been successful, so hopefully we can get everyone to show up again for some DMCs, ice cream, laughs, and smiles!
Other than that, all of us interns have begun to think about events we will plan for our respective neighborhoods. If anyone has any specific ideas let us know! Hope you all have a great week.
Go Green,
Kanika Suri
I cannot believe that we are at the brink of October! Our first football game against the school down the street, Central Michigan University, was quite a failure. But, luckily the CRC football clean up the following Sunday was a great success. There was a pretty decent turnout for an early morning. It seemed that most participants were students; hopefully at the next cleanup (after the Michigan game) we can push for more permanent residents too! It really awesome to see how little time it took to make our community look better. We enjoyed donuts and orange juice as well!
We had our second ice cream social in the Bailey neighborhood. We were all presently surprised with the diversity of attendants! It was a great chance to meet people outside of my neighborhood (Oakhill). The ice cream always helps too! I am now well aware that Buckeye Blitz is amazing. Our last ice cream social will take place in the Red Cedar neighborhood. The past two have been successful, so hopefully we can get everyone to show up again for some DMCs, ice cream, laughs, and smiles!
Other than that, all of us interns have begun to think about events we will plan for our respective neighborhoods. If anyone has any specific ideas let us know! Hope you all have a great week.
Go Green,
Kanika Suri
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Move In and the First Two Weeks!
Hi everyone!
I hope Labor Day weekend treated everyone well. The past two weeks have been a whirlwind. With the U-Haul trucks blocking every road, broke students rushing to the bookstores, footballs being tossed in the middle of intersections, and the chants of ‘Go GREEN, GO WHITE’, it seems that the fall semester is full in swing. This means our internship with the CRC has also come into play.
We got the privilege to help create ‘Welcome Bags’ that were filled with informational sheets about the recycling, safety, taxi services, among others. We made over 2,000 bags and then distributed them to individual houses and apartment complexes. It was a great way to interact with the current residents of East Lansing. It was definitely a positive way to start off our year! ☺
All of the interns took extra bags to deliver to our assigned blocks. It made it easier to approach the new residents and explain our purpose. For the most part, I received a very optimistic response. I even got invited to a few tailgates in my neighborhood!
Yesterday, we had the first ice cream social in my neighborhood. I went a couple days ago to hand out flyers. People were generally excited to meet others that lived around them. We lucked out by having ‘ice cream eating’ weather. I got to have some deep, meaningful conversations, known as DMCs in the CRC world, with many of the residents. I was generally surprised by the turnout. There was a perfect mix of permanent residents along with students that were mingling. I think all the other interns enjoyed it as well! Who doesn’t love eating ice cream while chatting it up with new people on a sunny day? No complaints, minus the swarms of mosquitoes! Next week is the Bailey neighborhood ice cream social; I cannot wait to see how it turns out! ☺
That is it for now. Have a great week!
Go Green,
Kanika Suri
CRC Intern
I hope Labor Day weekend treated everyone well. The past two weeks have been a whirlwind. With the U-Haul trucks blocking every road, broke students rushing to the bookstores, footballs being tossed in the middle of intersections, and the chants of ‘Go GREEN, GO WHITE’, it seems that the fall semester is full in swing. This means our internship with the CRC has also come into play.
We got the privilege to help create ‘Welcome Bags’ that were filled with informational sheets about the recycling, safety, taxi services, among others. We made over 2,000 bags and then distributed them to individual houses and apartment complexes. It was a great way to interact with the current residents of East Lansing. It was definitely a positive way to start off our year! ☺
All of the interns took extra bags to deliver to our assigned blocks. It made it easier to approach the new residents and explain our purpose. For the most part, I received a very optimistic response. I even got invited to a few tailgates in my neighborhood!
Yesterday, we had the first ice cream social in my neighborhood. I went a couple days ago to hand out flyers. People were generally excited to meet others that lived around them. We lucked out by having ‘ice cream eating’ weather. I got to have some deep, meaningful conversations, known as DMCs in the CRC world, with many of the residents. I was generally surprised by the turnout. There was a perfect mix of permanent residents along with students that were mingling. I think all the other interns enjoyed it as well! Who doesn’t love eating ice cream while chatting it up with new people on a sunny day? No complaints, minus the swarms of mosquitoes! Next week is the Bailey neighborhood ice cream social; I cannot wait to see how it turns out! ☺
That is it for now. Have a great week!
Go Green,
Kanika Suri
CRC Intern
Monday, August 24, 2009
First CRC Blog Entry!
Hi Team!
So I feel pretty honored to be responsible for this Blog’s first entry; it’s not every day you start history! I’m very busy at the moment finalizing everything for CRC Intern Training Week (next week….yikes!) but I wanted to take a little break and craft this blog to get things going. I’ll keep it short and sweet. : )
Recently, members of the CRC Core Leadership team explored different ways in which we might archive events and happenings associated with the organization. As the world goes more digital and looks to the Internet as a haven for up-to-date information, blogs are becoming an effective and engaging tool with which people from communities can stay connected. It is my understanding that this blog, among other things, is to be a means of record-keeping. In other words, what better way to find out about what’s going on in the CRC than from the Interns!
The exact purpose of this Blog has been left undefined, albeit unintentionally. As our CRC Interns work with their peers and establish relationships within the neighborhoods, they’ll be given the opportunity to reflect about events they coordinate, programs in which they participate, and goals and ambitions they cultivate during the course of the year. Essentially, this blog will be a platform for the student perspective. It is my hope that this blog becomes another component of our over-arching mission – to help residents become enamored with the unlimited potential that comes with community.
I am very excited about the upcoming year, and I invite all of you join me as I welcome another school year and another crop of CRC Interns for 2009 – 2010!
In the Spirit of Community,
Chris Sell
CRC Intern Coordinator
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