8 DetroitDialogue.com Dec. 19, 2018
THE HOWLER Detroit Cristo Rey High School | cristoreyhowler.com DETROIT
$200M gift to create parks, trails By Jorge Reyna The Howler On Oct. 17, the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation announced a very spectacular change of scenery that will be under way in early 2019. The deceased Ralph C. Wilson Jr., former owner of the Buffalo Bills, was from Grosse Pointe and always had much love for the city of Detroit. On what would be his one hundredth birthday, the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation announced a gift of $200 million to create new parks and recreational trails in Detroit and in Buffalo, New York. “Ralph simply gave us two directives before his passing; one:
get it done in twenty years and go away, and two: you guys figure it out,” said Jeffrey Litman, Chairman of the board, at the press conference announcing the gift. The plans in Detroit include a makeover of the 22-acre West Riverfront Park, which will be renamed the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park. Construction will begin in 2019 and is estimated to end by 2022. Mark C. Wallace, president and CEO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, which worked with the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation to create plans for the park, had a goal of connecting the community.
“We want this to be a place where everyone is welcomed and have many options of activities for kids and adults; to be a place where everyone can look forward to,” said Wallace. To get an understanding of what the people of Detroit wanted, Wallace and the Riverfront Conservancy created a committee of Detroit natives. This committee visited nationally recognized renowned parks in cities that include Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia to gain inspiration. Denise Kennedy, a Detroit native and breast cancer survivor, found inspiration from New York’s
STUDENT LIFE
CULTURAL CELEBRATION
Photos and story by Edward Sanchez Zavaleta The Howler On Friday, Nov. 16, Detroit Cristo Rey celebrated Diversity Day, an afternoon of learning about different cultures through food, clothing, music and more. Students presented on Colombia; Ireland; Italy; Japan; Korea; Michoacan, Mexico; Jalisco, Mexico, and African American culture.
Governors Island and found peace with the landscape and the unity of the people. She spoke at the conference and said this is just the beginning of making Detroit a better place for all people. She said she will continue to offer her voice as a representative of this project. At the press conference, Mary Wilson, the widow of Mr. Wilson, had a few closing remarks for the audience: “This project means he will not be forgotten and his legacy will continue to live on,” she said. “Ralph was a man that always wanted to go for it on fourth down and one yard and I think this park expresses that.”
JORGE REYNA/THE HOWLER
A model for the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park.
OPINION
2018: Salvaged or lost? Every year, people look back at the memories we made, the pictures we took, the activities we did, and decide whether Jackelyn it was a “good” Gildo year or not. But The an important Howler question that we often forget to ask still lies: Was this year better than the last? Whether it be academically, athletically, or spiritually, we need to stop and ask ourselves this question. How much greater was our progress in comparison to how we did the previous
year? Did we do what we wanted to do, was the year worthwhile or are we in the same place yet again - was 2018 saved or did we lose this year, too? Something always has to ruin the year, right? Just when we think our life is going well and it’s steady, a mishap occurs. We are able to see where things mess up and sometimes do not take the time to grow from that. My questions is: Why do we give unfortunate times the power to destroy our whole year? What I mean is, we don’t have to give up if one thing goes wrong. We’ve all heard about rising from See 2018 on page 23 »
OPINION
Trump immigration policy separates families By Britanny Gomez The Howler President Donald Trump has always shown a strong hatred towards immigration and immigrants; he has made it very clear that he is going to do whatever is possible to stop immigration. In April of this year, the “Zero Tolerance” policy was brought to life when Attorney General Jeff Sessions approved it. The “Zero Tolerance” policy makes it so that any families that immigrated to the United States will be punished and therefore parents will be separated from their children.
THE HOWLER
Adviser: Sydney Redigan-Barman Crain Mentors: Hannah Lutz & Jackie Charniga
The policy caused an uproar all around the country. Over the last couple of months, immigrant families have been torn apart, not only resulting in a loss and suffering for the victims but also struggles for President Donald Trump and Congress. Some of these families crossed the Southwest border looking for a better life, daring to dream for the freedom they could not receive in their own countries because of severe poverty or other factors. Instead, they come to the See FAMILIES on page 9 »
Staff Writers: Estephany Banda, Sierra Dawson, Britanny Gomez, Olga Luna, Jackelyn Gildo, Jessica Gutierrez, Giovanna Gomez, Esmeralda Hermosillo, Yumeri Jimenez, Yoceline Magdaleno, Paula Morales, Daisy Ovalle, Nicolas Perales, Jorge Reyna, Cecilia Rodriguez, Rhiannon Slotnick, Juan Willis