Monday, June 3, 2013

Friends of East Campus versus the World, pt. 1 (without meaningful interviews)

Dear all, I'm trying to organize an interview with Sharon Carlson, the former head of archives in East Hall and the last woman to teach in the building, to fill out this story. All of the numbers are all well and good, but without a meaningful voice of someone who worked there, the story is boring. I have a number that was updated in mid-2012, but tracking her down is tricky because I'm not sure if she's still with the University. In 2009, though, she did an interview and walk-through of East Hall with the WMU newspaper, so I'm hoping, if she's still at WMU, she'll be able to give me a tour.

As a backup, I'm arranging interviews with some of the members of FOHEC, and I'll be talking to kids that have the signs up in their yards.

Here's what I have so far, I'm sorry if it seems I haven't been putting enough work in...! I'll try to update and rewrite before class Wednesday.


On warm summer nights in the Vine Neighborhood of Kalamazoo, Michigan, it is not unusual to hear the sounds of a saxophone rolling like thunder down the hill from Western Michigan University’s long-abandoned East Campus. What was once a corner of campus with buildings that housed subjects ranging from Industrial Arts to Women’s Physical Education, the beautiful hilltop nestled between Oakland Drive and Davis Street has become a haven for students and Vine Neighborhood residents alike, wishing to escape the hustle of their daily routines.
            However, the calm respite afforded by East Campus may soon exist only in the history books of the Kalamazoo area. Three of the four buildings on the scenic Prospect Hill are slated to be razed by the present WMU administration, which released this decision in December 2012. The only building that will be left standing, according to the present plans, is East Hall, which served as the State Normal School, one of the original buildings on WMU’s campus. The other buildings—the North and West Halls, and the Speech and Hearing Center, along with the north and south annexes of East Hall—will all be destroyed. What is left of East Hall will become an alumni center, and the rest of Prospect Hill will serve as parking for the nearby WMU football stadium.
            The Kalamazoo community is not taking this news sitting down, though. The Friends of Historic East Campus, or FOHEC, a group founded in 1999 when original plans to demolish the buildings were drafted by WMU, has been waging a fierce campaign to raise awareness of the situation of one of Kalamazoo’s most historic areas. The banner of the 1000 member group’s website, www.fohec.org, immediately addresses the visitor of their primary concern: “WMU’s plans make our Bronco hang his head in shame!”
            However radical the FOHEC website, communications between the group and WMU have been stern but constructive. On January 14 2013, the group sent a letter to the WMU Board of Trustees, which highlighted their concerns over the plans for East Campus. “We commend the [WMU] President Dunn and the Board of Trustees for approving the renovation and reuse of the East Hall core, but we remain unconvinced of the need or benefit for rapidly turning most of the unique, historic East Campus into a parking lot.” Later in the letter, the group outlined a number of “Questions to be Answered by Western Michigan University,” among them the cost of maintenance of the building, the cost of demolition, and the indirect costs of demolition and redevelopment (debt incurred during the process, for example).
            Five weeks later, the Vice President for Business and Finance, Jan Van Der Kley, sent the group a response on behalf of the Board of Trustees. Thanking FOHEC for their support over the years, along with the $63,000 the group has “contributed over the years… to help pay for the development and implementation of plays, surveys, and prospectus costs,” Van Der Kley that only “the preservation of East Hall is the best alternative when considering the financial realities and many needs of the University.” The proposed demolition would cost around $2.2 million, while the University is paying around $275,000 a year in labor, material, and utility expenses. He also stated that renovations of historic structures also cost two to three times that of traditional, ground up contstruction.
            For the folks at FOHEC, this answer did not suffice, even though WMU is currently around $302 million in debt. The University listed “East Campus Buildings Renovations” as a #11 on their 2012 “Building Project Priority List,” estimating a cost of $96 million, a fee that the state would not pay, leaving the school to search for private funds to complete the project. However, as the members of FOHEC could attest, raising that kind of money is impossible.
            Confronted with this roadblock, FOHEC has started a grassroots campaign that has spread across the city of Kalamazoo, from the Vine neighborhood to the West and North sides of the city. Yard signs that implore passers-by to STOP THE DEMOLITION OF HISTORIC EAST CAMPUS, along with bumper stickers bearing the same message, have appeared all over the city.
            The FOHEC website has also created a Facebook page, which so far has over 370 “likes,” and is almost continuously updated with inspirational messages, “Ok, people! It's time to kick this into HIGH gear!! We need high-profile officials and celebrity's to like our Facebook page and be a part of this movement,” and photographs of the buildings along with graphs that point out the seeming hypocrisy of the WMU administration during their campaign.
            Although FOHEC seems to be fighting a losing battle, their desire to save East Campus, which was recently nominated as one of “America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places,” is shared among almost all of the inhabitants of the Vine Neighborhood. In fact, one of the two places people can pick up FOHEC yard signs is at the Vine Neighborhood Association.  A lack of money, FOHEC seems to believe, does not mean a lack of motivation to seek other uses for the buildings, and they firmly believe that all they need is wholehearted support from the community.

8 comments:

  1. Howdy William,

    So I read your in process writing and I am inclined to disagree with the sentiments you expressed. I don't think your piece is boring at all. To me it seems like the buildup or background presentation to a much larger story. The larger story there would be comprised of the meaningful interview(s) you address in the in process section.

    If everything else fails and completely bottoms out on you, I think, as a last ditch effort, you could hand in this piece as you have it (with minor revision) and get a passing grade. That being said, I think this is a wonderful topic and one that needs to be expressed. (you should go in and talk to Mark and Andrew)

    I hate to say this but I think the real issue here is your subject is too large for a 1000 word profile. Let's talk more in class, or if you want to meet outside of class I have some ideas.

    -Woody

    ReplyDelete
  2. I totally agree with Woody, I think that this piece definitely presents the struggle to save East Campus and the roadblocks FOHEC are facing in their fight to save it. I would like to see quotes so if you can get the interview that would be excellent, but I actually really like how this piece reads now.

    One of my only issues with the piece is that sometimes I don't know where your facts are coming from. This may only refer to the statement about WMU being $320 million in debt, just a quick blurb about where this is from could boost the credibility of that statement. I think your introduction is phenomenal and, having been to East Campus many times, this piece kind of made me a bit emotional about it's destruction!

    Good work. I look forward to discussing more in class.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You are covering a big story! It is evident that you are not only invested in this story but that you’ve done some significant research. The topic is pertinent and I would say highly relevant, despite your own comments to the contrary, and I think the signs around K’s campus have made me interested in these happenings.

    I think the interviews are going to be crucial to making this piece relatable. The amount of information and history that is necessary seems slightly overwhelming towards the middle of the piece, but I think by having a voice explaining and walking the reader through this, it would be much easier to get this information across.

    I support your process writing comments about getting interviews with students who have signs in their yards, this piece will benefit from both an administrative perspective as well as a relatable youth perceptions.

    See you in class.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is well-written. Your mechanics are strong. Everybody else seems to think you'll have word count problems, but I think you can easily manage condensing the background information and making the whole piece snappier. The key, I think, has less to do with interviews (though you need them) than it does focus.

    I think you have to take a more specific angle than FOHEC v. World (though I like the title). Right now, your story is a survey of the available information. And you seem to be trying to play Switzerland, though I'm not sure. A specific angle doesn't necessarily mean that you have to choose one aspect of the story and write it, but that you have to have your destination clear in your mind when you start. And the destination should be more specific than telling the story of FOHEC v. Administration.

    Do you have interviews scheduled with the leaders of FOHEC? I'm wondering what motivates them; digging into their motives could be a nice next step.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey Chandler-

    Your conflict is right here! and that's what makes a good story! and an even better story because it doesn't have an ending yet... This first part is awesome. It nicely contextualizes everything, sets up the action and is clear and easy to follow, as well as easy to connect with. I think your interviews will slide in here nicely, and make it a great piece.

    What i think is going to be important, though, is talking to the right people and talking to a wide range of them. You already mention the Vine neighborhood multiple times, people with signs in their front yards, people in FOHEC, even hearing the music from the buildings years and years ago. It would be so cool if you could find someone who remembers hearing that music, and then get all of these voices from the community stating their own involvement and stake in this conflict. The piece could be monumental to the movement! I'm so excited for it! Great job.

    Charlotte

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey Chandler,

    I think you are definitely too hard on yourself in your process writing. I think you have a great start here and there is definitely a clear conflict. What I took from what I read was that there is a strong populist movement against the destruction of these buildings, although the demolition actually makes a lot of sense financially. I think this really gets at the heart of what this community values and I think there is room for really exploring this in your final draft.

    I think that the inclusion of dialog will be necessary to pull everything together. You'll want to get some opinions from community members into the article. Other than that, I think you are off to a great start. Good work! See you in class!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Chaendlear,

    Good piece. This is an interesting topic and it's well-written. I think you were a little too hard on yourself in the process writing. This isn't a boring piece at all, because you're clearly invested in this subject. In fact, I think it would be okay for you to abandon neutrality and argue one side or the other. It's certainly something to think about.

    You really explained the financial situation as well as interactions between the FOHEC and WMU in a very clear manner. Everything is very clear and concise.

    I think this story is missing its visual component. What does East Campus look like? You have a great scene in your lede, but we don't really get a picture of East Campus. Without this visual, it's difficult to understand why people are so invested in these halls.

    Similarly, I think it would be good for you to interview people from WMU and the FOHEC besides Sharon Carlson. That'll help you fill out your story with quotes.

    Nicely done, sir.

    Trevor

    ReplyDelete
  8. I don't think you're hard enough on yourself in the process writing. (JK)

    This is a good first draft in that you have a timeline down, you have all of your historical background, and you just need to texturize it with anecdotes and interviews.

    The biggest thing I'm interested in for this piece is the balance of set-up and pay off. Really make clear what's at stake, heighten the tension if you can—again, I think talking to people with opinions on this will do a lot of that job for you.

    If you need to talk outside of class, Woody has some ideas.

    ReplyDelete