Thousands of Strays: Detroit

Neglected dogs in Detroit cause thousands of stray dogs

Stray dog wondering the streets of Detroit, Michigan. Source: Dante Dasani 2012

During the 1950s riots, Detroit, Michigan, started out with hundreds of dogs roaming the city, but as of now the number has increased to thousands. As residents of Detroit abandon their homes, to find better work and living conditions due to bankruptcy in 2013, many people, also left behind their animals. As more citizens move out of the city, the numbers of strays continued to grow. By 2015, Detroit has reached to the amount of 50,000 stray dogs wondering the streets.

Because Detroit is known for its high crime rates and abandon buildings, many people think stray dogs are over looked and said to be at the bottom of issues the city needs to fix. However, there are some people who try to make a difference in their neighborhoods by doing what they can to help.

Clyde Wilson,28, born and raised in the city of Detroit, has watched his city fill the streets with lost dogs. As a child, he found himself bringing a stray dog home at the age of 12, three different occasions, only to be turned away by his parents. Sixteen years later, Clyde sits on the porch of his own home to discover a lost dog hanging around his front yard.

Unsure of how the dog got there, Wilson grabbed a kitchen broom and convinced the dog to leave his property. A few days later, the same dog appeared in his yard again. Wilson noticed the dog was neglected and decided to turn the dog in to a local Humane Society.

Clyde’s life has changed for the better, since he brought his furry friend home six months ago. He hopes that other Detroit citizens take action and not ignore the dogs. “Whether it’s a warm home, searching for the owner, or giving the humane society a call; we can help our city by rescuing our abandoned animals,” said Clyde Wilson.

While it’s encouraged to help stray dogs, not every dog is approachable. In fact, many dogs are found to be dangerous. Pit Bull dogs are well known to be vicious dogs, that citizens are constantly warned to not approach. These dogs are found traveling in packs, living in abandon homes and roaming through the neighborhood trashcans. Like most stray dogs, some Pit Bull’s carry unknown diseases and attacks can be deadly.

Brenda Brown, 43, knows all too well about the dangers of stray dogs in Detroit. She and her grandchildren were walking to a local grocery store in late June, just a few blocks away from her home, when two Pit Bull dogs came from inside an abandon house ready to attack. Brenda quickly ran to a nearby car, putting her two small grandchildren on top for safety. “I was just making sure my grand babies were okay, that is all I was concerned about at that time,” said Brenda.

Barely making it on top of the car, the Pit Bull was able to get a hold of Brown’s pants leg nearly biting her ankle. Neighbors came to her rescue by shouting and throwing stuff at the two dogs until they fled the scene. Since no one was hurt, Brown said she did not contact the police nor animal control. “All I could remember was how scared I was and how I couldn’t walk pass that house for months,” said Brown.

The dogs no longer reside at that abandon home, however, the house is still available for the next dog to live in. Brenda Brown also wants citizens of Detroit to be aware of the dangers of not just Pit Bull dogs but any stray dogs. She and her neighbors hopes the city does something soon.

Below is a link to a timeline of Pit Bull incidents that happened in Detroit starting from 2013 to present year.

https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=1-TY1JFeQT7SW_l0vC2WNTaWxaPQdgr_HAPZw_1MZiy4&font=Default&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&height=650

Michigan Humane Society, located near midtown Detroit, works to help all kinds of animals. They take in injured strays, wildlife, and assist pet owners with animal care. Jessica Quinn, 33, a veterinary assistant in the Veterinary Department discussed surrendering and pet adoption details in an over the phone interview.

Jessica is aware of the problem Detroit has with thousands of stray dogs wondering the streets. She suggests that people should contact the Detroit rescue centers for any roaming dogs they witness. “People should not ignore them, it’s important for someone to contact us so we can help those animals. It also helps keep the neighborhood safe and free of any dangerous dogs or Wildlife,” said Quinn. Jessica believes if more people were willing to come together and help, the amount of strays will begin to decrease.

Although, Detroit does lack dog catchers, rescue centers are always willing to help. However, rescue centers can’t locate every stray dog. If they are notified, it could help solve Detroit’s big dog issue. The residents of Detroit want to see a change in their city but it starts with them. Citizens should report all abandon houses or buildings that contain any dogs, rather they are danger or not.
If you are a Detroit resident that has witness neglect or found any unattended animals, please call the Emergency Rescue department at (313) 872-0026.

TMS: Book Review Podcast Show Notes

519H8h5BYQL._SX332_BO1,204,203,200_
Award winning book Feb. 2018

This podcast was very enjoyable to create with my classmates Sarah Williams and MyKila Allix. We started off with a rough start considering none of us has done a podcast in a while but once we all met up, it became very easy to lay out a plan. We chose the book Algorithm of Oppression by Dr. Safiya Umoja Noble to do the book review on. The podcast focused of the strengthen and weaknesses of the book. It was so many strengthens to Dr. Noble’s book it was hard to argue anything she presented in her research. My podcasting crew really enjoyed reading this book. We are a group of women who uses the internet therefore it was easy to relate to Dr. Noble’s finding. The books main point was to shed a light on search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. The search engines show a collection of negative biases about women when enter the words “black women”, “Asian women”, “Latino women”, and “Indian women”. Dr. Noble brought this issue to many internet users attention; that raise a question. Why are search engines allowing sexually references to pop up when people only put in the color or nationality of the women? There are so many things that could show when you put in “Asian girl” but pictures of hot and sexy Asian girls pop up. I figured that the searches were mirrored and the search engine is only going to give you what you put in it. If many people are searching that same thing, making that a top search; that’s why it shows up at the top. However, my classmate Sarah noticed that these were advertisements that payed google to be at the top when someone searched anything about Asian girls. That changed everything. That meant Google is allowing these type of algorithms to be shown because people payed for them to be at the top. That made us wonder is Google racist? Dr. Noble says, “Google denies everything. They deny any harm or ill intent”. Dr. Noble also brought to our attention that Google takes money from everybody, people who support segregation, KKK, and anything else. As long as you pay, it doesn’t matter. It sounds like they are responsible to me and if there is anyone who think they are not responsible than who is? I encourage everyone men and women to read this book. Especially, if you are an internet user it is strongly recommended.

Click the link below to check out TMS podcast.

TMS Podcast

Check out a few other book reviews and what other people feel about this book.

Book Review from Helen Kara:

Book Review: Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Safiya Umoja Noble

Book Review from Mark Filipowich:

Safiya Umoja Noble’s Algorithms of Oppression

Timeline : Stray Dogs Attacks in Detroit

When stray pit-bull dogs attack

yyyyy
Vicious Pit Bull dog; ready to attack. All Things Wildly Considered blog. 2012

The city of Detroit struggles with the endless amount of stray dogs. In fact, the stray dogs are so bad that they are becoming seriously dangerous towards the citizens. This timeline is created for research purposes.

I wanted to focus on the the most recent attacks around the city from east to west starting from the year 2014 to 2019. The attacks slowed down a bit in the 2018 but pick back up quickly is February 2019.

The attacks involve pit-bull dogs only because those are more common to be vicious toward citizens. Many people think dogs have to be aggravated or taunted with in order for an attack to happen.

This timeline shows that’s not true. In almost every incident with a pit-bull, the victim was minding their business. My goal is to bring awareness to citizens who live in neighborhood that accumulate stray dogs.

There are still dog catchers that will address any issues before it’s too late. The city of Detroit has responded on multiple occasions about the stray dog issue but have failed to solve anything. This year, more than three children has died in a situation involving a dangerous dog. Hopefully the city of Detroit figures out out a way to keep the animals off the street and us safe.

To check out the timeline, click the link below.

https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=1-TY1JFeQT7SW_l0vC2WNTaWxaPQdgr_HAPZw_1MZiy4&font=Default&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&height=650

Twine Game: The Wheelchair Assignment

young-man-on-wheelchair-looking-in-empty-refrigerator-KAENHA
Man in wheelchair realizes he is hungry and needs to go shopping for food. SOURCE: stock photos

This game was very fun to create and wasn’t difficult to make at all. The idea came from a previous journalism assignment called the Wheelchair. Instead this concept was the complete opposite. The point my group wanted to get across was that going grocery shopping in a wheelchair is very hard to do for the disabled. There are many obstacles to over-come during the grocery shopping experience.

However, my team struggled with adding sound using Sound Cloud. We wanted to find a sound that went well with our pictures and have it automatically play once a player clicks onto the slide. Although the sound was added to the slide, the automatic play was tricky to figure out. It was always exciting when we passed a part we could not understand.

Coding on Twine was the most frustrating thing to complete. We wanted to add pictures to almost every slide but the coding had to be done correctly or the picture would not appear properly. What we all found intriguing was the way the slides came together.

Once we figured out how to connect a slide, it helped us make the slides flow smoothly. The five slides I worked on began with the wheelchair man in the granola aisle, who just accidently ran over a child’s cereal box. During this part of the slides, the game became very humorous.

The players had the option to either argue with the parent or apologize and keep shopping. Obviously, the best option was to keep shopping because if a player chose to argue with the parent than the security guard would kick them out.

When asking for feedback to test the game out, many players believed this part was unrealistic. Which they were correct, it was completely impractical. However, this is a game and most games are built upon fabrication. The idea was to make the player continue shopping.

The next few slides the player is trying to wrap things up and get to the checkout line but obstacles get into the way. First the man knocks down a bunch of clothes from a rack but it would take too long to pick them up due to the store closing shortly. Rushing to checkout, the player will realize the card reader is too high and will need help with paying for the items.

For this particular slide the feedback from testers were not happy. A comment about the game and this slide read, “As a whole, it didn’t make a lot of sense. It seemed trivializing and poking fun.”, but that was not my groups intention. We didn’t think anyone was going to be offended by the game at the time of creating the project.

We wanted people to walk away with understanding that people in wheelchair go through a lot of minor complications that people really don’t think about or see. Although, being in a wheelchair is a sensitive subject, it was not in our objective to necessarily make fun of anyone. We just added humor to make the game fun as a whole.

Over all, the game turned out just the way we wanted it. There were many players who enjoyed it. In the future, I would like to try Twine on my own time and think of another way to create something using what I learned during this assignment.

 

Iraq Protest Leaves Hundreds Dead: Immigrants in America Worry about Deportation

Iraq protest brings fear to American Immigrants

Iraq
Government officials trying to calm the protesters down. SOURCE: Hassan Mneimneh

Danger is no secret when it comes to an uncontrolled country like Iraq. The country is known for its terrorism attacks, kidnapping, and active military conflict. Americans are warned to avoid traveling or consulting with government officials before visitation.

As of now, Iraq civilians are fed up with the conditions of the country and are currently protesting to get their needs heard. However, protests in Iraq are far from peaceful.

According to Al Jazeera English, an online news source says, “Security forces have responded to the crowds of mostly young men with astonishing brutality, firing live ammunition, water cannons and tear gas into crowds.”

Al Jazeera includes a tweet from Independent Journalist, Yousif Al-Hashimi, during a YouTube live stream, that explains the protesters actions.

However, violence is not the answer. Hundreds of protesters have been killed and thousands are left injured. The protest is one of the biggest Iraq has seen in decades.

While President Donald Trump and the U.S military are doing what they can to help the country, citizens and immigrants in America are worried about their families that are at risk of being deported.. In fact, many people from Iraq escape the violence by coming to the United States with their families even if it’s illegal.

Veronica Habbo, 27, knows all too well about the terrors of Iraq. Her family traveled from Baghdad, Iraq to United States well over fifty years ago.

Veronica worries about her family being deported back to Baghdad due to the state of being in Iraq. Although, she is a U.S citizen, many of her aunts and uncles are not. Just three years ago, Veronica and her family were forced into court to testify on behave of her Uncle Ramiz Habbo.

In 2006, Ramiz Habbo was charged for being in the United States illegally. U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement threaten to deport Ramiz, unless he can prove not guilty. Veronica and her family were devastated and they feared if their Uncle Ramiz was sent home to Iraq they would kill him.

Uncle Ramiz is currently in the process of receiving his green card to become legal in the U.S. Veronica says, “My family believe they are Americans, they have homes and businesses on American land. For many years they have lived the America way and are good people. They came to this country to be safe and it’s sad to see them scared to go outside because they worry about being sent back.”

Veronica, hopes to see changes in Iraq. She supports the protesters and look forward to her people getting what they deserve. In the future, Veronica Habbo, would like to visit without fear of being kidnapped or killed.

At this moment, Iraq is under curfew due to the anti-government protesters. Americans hope for an agreement between the protesters and their government. However, there is a warning advisory for all Americans that wish to travel to Iraq, to make note that the airports are completely secure but not beyond that point. Conditions are so severe that U.S Military could possibly be sent back to America.

Wayne State Struggles with Poor Building Conditions

Students and faculty suffers from University’s poor facility

E37B0CF8-BC05-413A-B000-663F1056EA66

State Hall is located in the heart of Wayne State University’s main campus; where many undergraduate’s students attend basic classes like History, English and Math.

Lately, the general education building, causes University’s students and faculty to become outraged at the poor building conditions.

A simple walk to class may requires students to shield themselves from ceiling tiles falling to avoid a strike to the head. In fact, many ceiling tiles are missing on every floor throughout the building.

file3
State hall ceiling tile on second floor. SOURCE: Tisha Long September 27, 2019

Multiple elevators down have also become a part of the problem in State Hall. For months, the elevators have caused disabled students complications with getting to classes on top floors.

However, falling ceiling tile and out of order elevators, isn’t the only thing in poor condition at State Hall. Women restrooms are in the worst conditions than ever before.

thumbnail_file-2-e1570072710856.jpg
State Hall women’s bathroom on first floor SOURCE: Tisha Long September 27, 2019

Girls struggle to have a clean and properly working bathroom stall. In most cases, the bathrooms are missing soap, paper towel and even tissue. Graffiti covers the walls in most stalls on the first floor.

The condition of state hall is unimaginable but what really concern students and faculty are the roaches being found around the building. Recently, students have spotted them on the floors, bathrooms sink and on top of toilets.

Graduate student, Kristine Moore says, the bathroom across from her Neuroscience class is never clean.

Kristine worries about the conditions getting worse and wonders what the school is doing to solve the issues.

According to Karen Reeves, a custodian of eleven years at Wayne State says, “I have to be honest with you, I can’t count how many roaches I’ve seen because I’ve seen so many. I hurry to clean the bathroom up and get out.”

Ms. Reeves also says, she encourages students to avoid stepping on the bugs so they won’t carry them home on their shoes.

Pictures of State Halls facility conditions has been emailed to Building Coordinator, LaNita Stewart and Facilities Operations and Maintenance Director, Steven Pecic.

Steven Pecic replied by stating, “What you’ve shared is not what we strive for. I’ll get in contact with the building coordinator. In the meantime, I’ll have staff address the issues you’ve identified.”

Although, our Building Coordinator of the year, LaNita Stewart was included in the emails, there was still no response.

Currently, Wayne State is in the process of demolishing and remodeling many buildings around campus. The University recently added more restaurants, new apartment buildings and updated the Student center. Students hope that State Hall will be soon on the list.

 

 

Warrior Way Back: Bringing Students Back to Wayne State University.

file10
Academic Services Officer, Amber Neher informs previous students about Warrior Way Back enrollment. Source: Tisha Long Sept. 10, 2019

A new program at Wayne State University called Warrior Way Back held an event at Wayne State’s undergraduate library on Tuesday, September 10, 2019. The event focused on bringing awareness to the program and provided former students with more information to join.

Although, the function was small, representatives Chloe Lundine and Amber Neher made it a time to remember. They provided snacks for the students and brought in board games for people who attended with children. For two years, Chloe Lundine and Amber Neher has helped hundreds of students enroll into the program and their goal is to help one-hundred more students who struggles with getting back into Wayne State before the end of 2020.

Enrollment Program Manager, Chloe Lundine speaking with adults who’s interested in joining Warrior Way back. Source: Tisha Long Sept. 10, 2019

Amber Neher says, the program is only available for undergraduate students who seeks to finish their bachelor’s degree.

Warrior Way Back has helped hundreds of students pay off past due balances up to $1,500. According to Amber, the program is now expanding to involve students who don’t have a past due balance but may have left Wayne State due to failing grades.

Amber and Chloe go out their way to find students who have not yet found their way to them. “We send out emails , we mail out post cards and sometimes, we go as far as to calling over the phone,” says Amber.

Jermaine Peguese, a junior at Wayne State University, knows all too well about the Warrior Way back program, as he returned to school last winter to finish his degree in constructive management.

Jermaine says, many students are unaware of the program and he wants to help bring awareness to people who needs it. Jermaine is also excited about the school year and expected to graduate with his bachelor’s in 2023.

So far, 20 students have graduated from the University with the help from Chloe and Amber. The two women hope to start a movement and bring the program to other colleges as well.

Can a Journalist Friend or Follow a Source on Social Media?

images

Is it OK for a journalist to friend or follow a source? According to the Online News Association: Social Networks and Ethics Key Issues, it is perfectly fine as long as the journalist avoids perceptions of bias. In order for the journalist to avoid being bias, he or she should follow both parties on the specific issue at hand. As a journalist, it’s important to be fair at all cost. No doubt, it is easy to follow someone on Twitter and not have to follow them back. News organizations approve of the following method because it’s a one way action that doesn’t require approval. Sometimes friending an anonymous source who’s giving out information may reveal their identity. It’s important that journalist keeps things confidential and respects the sources privacy.

As stated in the Online News Association, “Some news orgs may decide that people shouldn’t friend colleagues working below them.” If that person is your friend outside of work, it’s easy to want to accept their friend request on social networks. The pressure may be difficult to decline the request. Having more seniority means that other colleagues will look up to that person. People want to be someone’s friend that has more knowledge and information in the field. In an American Journalism Review article, “To Friend or Not to Friend” says, “Reporters have not received much in the way of managerial guidance on this subject, and there tend to be no established guidelines.” However, many journalist still maneuver with caution due to a fear of running into a conflict of interest.

In some news organizations, being friends with one another on social media is a common thing. Social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are used for professional reasons and open friending may be commonly encouraged. It is safe to say that journalist can friend or follow a source on social networks but please proceed with caution.

Unsafe Bicycle Lanes in Detroit

ttt

We fear of flying in an airplane but operating a vehicle is one of the most dangerous things we do on a regular basis. As a driver we must remain safe, stay in our lane, keep our eyes on the road and of course watch out for pedestrians.

Recently, in the city of Detroit, a new and improved obstacle has been added to our already pothole infested streets and they’re called, bicycle lanes.Living in the city, occasionally, we may see someone riding a bike, and sometimes we might see a group of people. In spite of that, Detroit is called the “Motor City” for a purpose and we don’t need bicycle lanes for our city.

Here’s why! Bicycle lanes are dangerous. The lanes are insecure because they are located on the right side of your vehicles in between the passing lane and the lane that is used to turn right. This can create an unsafe situation and hold up traffic. For example, when people are bicycling in the provided lane and someone who’s driving a motorized vehicle is ready to turn right, the people bicycling don’t have to stop, however, the person in the vehicle does. Bicyclers don’t have to yield to any signs when they’re in the street, which is extremely risky. If a person driving goes without looking for bicyclers, they may be at risk of an accident. Let’s say the driver notices the bicycler, now he or she has to stop before getting into the turning lane, meanwhile holding up traffic. In some parts of the Metro Detroit area, this type of bike lane has been improved by the city due to citizen complaints. The most recent bike lane is now taking up an entire traffic lane, creating a green space that alerts cars when they enter the lane. This can be extremely annoying for drivers during heavy traffic or rush hour, less lanes equal more traffic.

Although, we are supposed to look and be cautious while driving, many of us do other things while driving, like texting, talking to others in the car and other distractions.

Melvin Hopkins, 48, drives an 18 wheeler semi-truck seven days a week for work. He also noticed the newly painted bicycle lanes on Van Dyke and 8 mile road. While Melvin is well-trained on staying focused when driving, he too, shares the same bike lane pet peeve.

“I know we’re supposed to share the road but that bicycle lane is something the city created just because they were bored, said Melvin. We don’t need it, just like we don’t need all this other stuff that we pay for as tax payers.”

Melvin said the turning lane is over looked most of the time since people still drive in the lane.

As stated in a guest column on The Ann Arbor News, the city of Ann Arbor are having a bike lane problem too but their issue is the fact people still drive in the lane. Sounds like their citizens are ignoring the lanes too.

According to The Ann Arbor News, “It’s technically illegal to drive in a bike lane even if a community hasn’t adopted UTC, since all road users are required to obey traffic control devices, and bike lane markings are traffic control devices. But it’s funny that the Michigan city with the most bike lanes does nothing to keep motorists out of them.”

We would think a city that contains the most bicycle lanes would have a strict policy on motorist vehicles riding in them. Just like we would hope a city like Detroit, wouldn’t spend money on something so small, when there are major things like plot holes and broken street lights that need to be fixed.

Patricia Green, 27, a regular bicycler, who says adding the bike lanes were the best thing Detroit could do for the city.

“The new bike lanes are larger and more suitable, said Patricia. I’ve been waiting for the city to do this for years. It’s a shame drivers are ignoring the bike lane signs, the city should have more discipline for those who aren’t obeying the traffic laws.”

Patricia admits to witnessing vehicles still driving in bike lane but that only proves they are still unsafe no matter how many green spaces there are. If the lanes must exist, they seem more suitable for motorcycles instead of bikes. Bicyclers should go back to being on the sidewalk, where it’s much safer and no one is holding up the traffic.

 

Keeping Up with Detroit

A lot is happening around Detroit, and it’s almost impossible to keep up. Below are a few stories I found on Twitter that were Detroit related.

 The city of Detroit’s former mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick is asking the justices to overturn his public corruption conviction that sent him to prison for 28 years, but there is no guarantee the court will hold a hearing on the case or hear arguments.

 

Flint water crisis causes students morning and evening school meals to change at Northridge Academy. Students are aware the water is bad. According to The Detroit News, “As Flint’s water crisis continues to unfold, schools across the city are being forced to make their own adjustments, from changing school menus to keeping bottles of water on hand in classrooms for thirsty students.” The city of Detroit is doing everything to help.

Now that the Flint crisis is happening, other America’s believe their water might be contaminated too.

Detroit current Mayor Mike Duggan is working hard to repair the city due to pervious loses. He’s currently coordinating projects that involved rebuilding and building new homes around Detroit. Mayor Mike Duggan wants change in the Detroit including the city’s “Motor City” title.

 

Detroit sends water to Flint while Flint works on repairing the contaminated pipes.

Wayne State University helps with testing the water in Flint.

Have you checked out any historical location in Detroit. People barely know they exist. James Smith House is second to oldest house in Detroit’s city…who knew?

Former Wayne State student, Tina Varlesi said she was asked inappropriate questions about her pregnancy during an internship at the Salvation Army.

Local animal shelter, Rejoceful Animal Rescue saves and helps as sick puppy and helps him complete a bucket list for dogs.

Parents who refused to give there children vaccine shots takes the blame for a measles controversy. Children without the proper vaccinations easy spread certain breakouts.

Detroit buildings maybe old and worn down, but it turns out they come in handy when you’re trying to make a movie. Batman vs Superman movies used some well-known buildings and locations around town to shoot different scenes for the movie.

If you’re every in Detroit or the Metro Detroit area, stop by a few of these places before you leave. According to Visit Detroit, a travels guide and blogpost, there’s 7 things you must do while you’re in town.

https://twitter.com/metrotimes
https://twitter.com/freep
https://twitter.com/detroitnews