THE FACE OF ANN ARBOR VOLUME 3, NUMBER 26

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Celebrating 6 FabulousYears! All Hanging Baskets and 36 Count Flats

Inside
U of M gives tips for confronting smokers
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Teacher says MTV Made her out wrong

Crew lmed student rapper at Pioneer
By James David Dickson
A2 Journal

On the RAIL

Vicki Shields cant say that no one warned her. Her students told her to steer clear when producers of MTVs Made came calling. The show had tapped then-Ann Arbor Pioneer senior Emma Hamstra to work with up-and-coming Ann Arbor emcee P.L. in the hopes of writing a rap song and performing it in front of her schoolmates. Shields teaches an African-American humanities class at Ann Arbor Pioneer. The class was working on a unit on cultural appropriation when Hamstra, who is white, started learning how to rap. One of Hamstras friends mentioned her rap experiment in Shields class, which inspired some discussion. That friend is seen running up to Hamstra, breathless, afterward, explaining that she was quite the topic of conversation. The teenagers had grown up all of their lives watching reality TV shows like the one Shields was agreeing to participate in. They understood, better than an adult might, how a five-minute version of an hourlong conversation can be edited to appear, and told their teacher to steer clear. Producers had confided to Shields that filming wasnt going well, that they were having a hard time getting Hamstra to open up, and without more material it might not make the airwaves. Those producers asked the teacher to keep it real with Hamstra when she dropped in to ask if she could explain herself to the humanities class. I knew when I met (Hamstra) that I didnt want to do it because I didnt feel she was ready to open up, Shields said. The teacher cooperated, anyway. But if all you saw was the MTV version, you would think that Shields class was talking about a 17-year-old student behind her back. Shields might not have even heard about Hamstras experiment if she hadnt been told. Predictably, its a trainwreck when Hamstra comes to visit. The teenager reports feeling blindsided by the class questions and the tone behind them, and leaves the classroom crying. In reality, Shields said, she had prepared a list of questions in advance and gave them to both the producers and to Hamstra. These are the questions students are seen reading during Hamstras visit. And the crying it happened, Shields says, but context was lost on the cutting room floor. She started crying after a student asked about her experience doing Made, actually, Shields said. Hamstra was talking about the experience and how hard it was, and how it had affected her grades. Shields said she didnt even want to do a quesPLEASE SEE MTV/2-A

Sports
Ann Arbor school district elects halt funding for lacrosse teams.

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ON THE WEB
Photos by Donna Iadipaolo

Cancer survivors garbed in their purple Celebrate, Remember, Fight Back T-shirts begin their Survivors Lap together.

Relay for Life surpasses goal set by organizers

By Donna Iadipaolo
Special Writer

Fighting back

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early everyone is affected by cancer in some way, either as a survivor, caregiver, relative or friend. And half of all men and one out of every three women will face a cancer diagnosis in his or her lifetime. But nearly 650 participants fought back at the American Cancer Societys Ann Arbor Relay for Life at Washtenaw Community Colleges College Park Saturday and Sunday. Thanks to the relay participants, we are creating a world with more birthdays, a world where cancer cant claim another year of anyones life, said Lisa Rayner, this years event chairwoman. Families, friends, neighbors, schoolmates and sports teams formed their own relay teams. A $10 registration fee was charged per person and each participant set a goal of $100 to $200. Its estimated that the event raised more than $130,000 this year. From 10 a.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday, 41 teams participated in the fundraiser for the American Cancer Society Each team . had a representative on the track at all times during the 24-hour period. The opening ceremony featured the University of Michigan Air Force ROTC. The relay kicked off with a Survivors Lap in which brave cancer survivors circled the

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2011 committee members for the Ann Arbor Relay for Life are dressed in green T-shirts that state, Celebrate, Remember, Fight Back. Pictured are Team D Chairwoman Stephanie Curtis, Event Vice Chairman Brian Guimon, committee member John Ramirez and Event Chairwoman Lisa Rayner. inside WCC. There were also activities on Saturday for children, including a ring toss, face paining and sand art. Saturday evening during the Luminaria Ceremony, candles were lit inside bags filled with sand, each one LISA RAYNER bearing the name of a person touched by cancer. Ann Arbor Relay for Life event chairwoman Rayner has spent four years as a relay particitrack together to highlight Celebrate, Remember, pant. She said this years the victories that they Fight Back. event was the biggest she had achieved over cancer. After rounding the track, had seen locally. many survivors enjoyed a All were wearing purple brunch prepared for them relay T-shirts, which read PLEASE SEE RELAY/2-A

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Thanks to the relay participants, we are creating a world with more birthdays, a world where cancer cant claim another year of anyones life.

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