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A question you may be asking is “why should we engage in
this effort to improve Ann Arbor –
a desirable community already – when there are many more serious problems that
need our attention?”
And that’s a good question.
Many New West Siders are students, were students, or will be students in
the future. Those studying at the
University may be investigating and helping remedy some of the most important
issues of our time. Developing methods
for preventing, treating, and curing diseases like cholera, HIV/AIDS, and
cancer. Improving local and
international communications systems.
Developing new means of cultural and artistic expression. Why should anyone take time away from these
important efforts to try to improve Ann Arbor,
which seems like a pretty good place already?
The need to address student and renter issues, the growing
problem of affordability, and political parity are essential issues to those
who want to pursue an education at the University of Michigan (or anywhere,
really) and use that education to promote the greater good in the world. First, Ann Arbor
is inextricably bound to the University
of Michigan, and vice versa. Ann Arbor
would not be such a desirable city if not for the influence of creative
individuals attached to the university in one way or another. And pretty much anyone who goes to school at Michigan
spends at least half his or her time also living, working, or shopping in Ann
Arbor. For
community members who aren’t going to school, this should be a no-brainer, as
you ARE Ann Arbor. If we do not work to make Ann Arbor a place
that is affordable to students, a place that values young people’s political,
cultural, and economic contributions to the city, and a place with a vision for
the future that recognizes the impact of a 3.5 billion-dollar-a-year
modernization project within its city boundaries, Ann Arbor will cease to be an
attractive city for young people, will make the University less appealing as it
competes for students (and faculty), and will detract from all the extraordinary
efforts currently going on here to improve the world.
Additionally, if no group steps forward to deal with these
issues, Ann Arbor will become not
just inhospitable to students and renters;
the city will also begin to exclude young professionals because of
unaffordability and will become undesirable for its lack of creativity and
broad and open participation of all sectors of society. This effort is not just to make rents better
for undergrads. It is an effort to
change the direction Ann Arbor is
heading and to ensure its future viability and accessibility for all segments
of the population.
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