UCityUnited

Final Leadership U City seminar on May 12th. Topic? Economic Development
in University City
UCityUnited is also holding the final seminar in its Leadership U City
program on Saturday, May 12th. The seminar topic is Economic Development in University City. Speaking will be Lehman Walker, the Director of Community Development in University City, and Larry Marks, Principal and Executive Vice President at Development Strategies. The seminar will be held at 9:30 a.m. at Crown Center at 8350 Delcrest Drive. The seminar is free and open to anyone interested in attending. Pre-registration is encouraged. You can pre-register at 314-725-9094 or ucityunited@ucitymo.com.

UCityUnited Issue working groups
Three groups of University City residents have come together to work on issues that have been raised at UCityUnited forums and meetings. They are:

Cool Cities Initiative Working Group
This working group wants to work with the city to develop ways to combat global warming on a community level. In 2006 University City Mayor Joseph Adams signed the Cool Cities Initiative, joining dozens of other mayors in doing so. For more information on the Cool Cities Initiative check out http://www.coolcities.us/. The group is discussing a strategy for presenting and enacting proposals for curtailing global warming and promoting energy efficiency. For more information contact Leslie Lihou at leslielihou@brick.net.

Race, Class and Culture Working Group
Group members are working together to determine how to begin an on-going community discussion on the issues of race, class and culture in our community.

The next meeting of this group is scheduled to be held on the evening of May 16th at 6:30 p.m. in room 124 of Goldfarb Hall at Washington University. (Goldfarb Hall is also known as the School of Social Work and faces Forsyth Blvd. closes to Skinker than Big Bend.)

Schools Working Group
The Schools Working Group is composed of people interested in working to improve student achievement in the University City schools. If you would like more information about this group, please contact Therese Siegel at
pfpactt@sbcglobal.net/ The next scheduled meeting for this group is on Monday, May 21st at 7:00 p.m. at the Flynn Park Elementary School library.

Interested in University City history?
Well then, consider becoming a member of the Sutter-Meyer Society. This newly-formed group is working to raise funds to renovate the Sutter-Meyer farmhouse, the oldest building in University City, and use it as a
cultural/educational center. The group meets on the third Tuesday of the month at 7pm at Pershing Elementary School. Lots of help is needed. The next meeting is scheduled for May 15th. If you want more information contact suttermeyersociety@ucitymo.com.

Like to play golf?
Plan to take part in the University City Parks Foundation Golf Tournaments on June 23rd. The Parks Foundation is now looking for sponsors and players. For more information contact Ruth Park Golf Pro Ron Akin at 727-4800.

From the library
The Gallery of the University City Public Library is seeking applicants for juried shows for their 26th season. The space is only suitable for wall-mounted work. If you are interested in being considered contact Lexine
Pranschke at 314-727-3150 or lexine@ucpl.lib.mo.us. The deadline for applications is May 15th.

From the School District of University City….
School District and City of University City Will Hold Youth Safety Forum
The Community Partnership for Safety will hold a public forum on Wednesday, May 16 to seek input from University City residents on summer youth safety. The City and School District of University City are jointly sponsoring the event. Representatives from the school district as well as the police and fire departments will be on hand to listen to concerns and answer questions about the issue. The forum will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Julia Goldstein Early Education Center, 737 Kingsland Ave. For more information call 314-290-4020.

University City High School Sponsors Summer Sports Camp

Students interested in either learning or improving their skills in such athletic activities as basketball, baseball, track, field hockey, soccer, tennis, pom-poms, cheerleading, water polo or wrestling should consider enrolling in University City High School’s Sports Camp.

The one-week camp is open to University City students who have completed fourth through seventh grades. Sessions will be held June 11-15 beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 4:45 p.m. The deadline for registration is May 15. All sessions will be taught and supervised by University City High School athletic coaches and players. Fees range from $20 for one session to $80 to participate in all day camp. A non-refundable registration fee of $5 per camper is also required. For more information or to register contact Nancy Mozier, evenings only at 314-721-7554 or via email at nancymozier@sbcglobal.net.

UCHS Athletic Boosters Golf Tourney to be held Friday, June 29, at Forest
Park.
Join in some fun for a good cause! The UCHS Athletic Boosters hope this tourney grows to include lots of Alumni, Community Business Owners, Parents, area Golfers, and, we hope to make lots of new Friends too. The day will
have something for everyone! Golf and dinner or just dinner and laughs with great people! Sign up early, space is limited!! We are in need of donations for prizes and awards as well as hole sponsors and donations of beverages and lots of goodie bag gifts. This tournament is always fun and this year we will play 18 holes at Forest Park with dinner to follow. Please pass the attached flyers around and let’s really make a difference for the student-athletes of University City! I’m kind of partial…but, we have lots of great things going on at U. City High and lots to be proud of. All funds raised through this tourney are used to benefit the athletic programs at the U. Come early, play hard, stay late! See you at Forest Park on Friday, June 29th!

School District starts E-Blast to share news about the district.
The following is from Daphne Dorsey, the head of PR in the district….. “Our goal is simple - we want to ensure that you, our school community, is aware of the great things that occur within this district. The School News
E-Blast will provide a snapshot of building events and activities. If you have questions regarding the news items listed within the attachment, please contact Daphne Dorsey, Public Relations Coordinator at 314-290-4016 or via
email at ddorsey@u-city.k12.mo.us. Thank you.”

If you have any events you would like included in a future University City Bulletin Board, please send them to me at billandshelley@ucitymo.com

Please share this bulletin board with anyone and everyone you think may be interested in what’s happening in University City.

Posted with permission from the Citizen Journal. All rights reserved.

Forum addresses race, class and culture
Future sessions on other topics planned

By Erin Taylor
Tuesday, February 27, 2007 2:31 PM CST

University City is considered by many one of the most racially diverse cities in the St. Louis area.

At a town hall forum last week, concerned residents disagreed, describing University City as a fractured city segregated by race and class.

UCityUnited hosted the town hall forum, “University City: An Intersection of Race, Class and Culture,” Feb. 22 in the library of Pershing Elementary School as part of Black History Month. UCityUnited bills itself as an independent, nonpartisan, non-governmental body committed to shaping the future of University City by facilitating communication among residents.

The forum included presentations by state Rep. Jeanette Mott Oxford, D-St. Louis, and Eric Huang, secretary of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

Oxford offered a glimpse of the issue of race at the statewide level. She said many of the bills she debates with other legislators are nothing but “mutations of racism” and have everything to do with perceptions of race and poverty.

“It’s not as blatant as it used to be. Now we have ‘Have a Nice Day’ racism,” she said.

She referenced cuts made to Medicaid in 2005 where legislators said poor people were more often to abuse and defraud the system, as well as bills currently being debated about making English the official language of proceedings.

More than 50 residents attended the forum, which included an open-microphone portion for those in the audience.

David Kennell, one of the residents who spoke, said he felt University City is a city divided along racial lines. He has lived north of Olive Boulevard for more than 40 years, an area he describes as around 95 percent black.

“Part of the problem in the schools is reflected in the neighborhood,” he said. “Not many white families live north of Olive.”

According to University City demographic information, around 49 percent of University City’s population is white, 44 percent black, 3 percent Asian and 3 percent listed as “other.”

Kennell suggested helping build a stronger commercial area north of Olive and involving the local Chamber of Commerce.

As a member of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Huang spoke about a burgeoning Asian business district at Olive and Interstate 170.

“In 1975 there was one Chinese grocery store,” Huang said. “Now we have four that cater to Asians.”

Lots of talk focused on educating kids about racism. Lisa Hummel grew up in West County but moved to University City so her children could have a more diverse education. Now her son finds himself singled out for being a white student in a predominantly black school.

Hummel was at a loss as to how to help her son be seen as an individual outside of his skin color.

“I don’t want my son to sit at the ‘white table’ when he gets to high school, because that’s not the point of living in a mixed community,” Hummel said.

Danielle Herron, 18, said kids need to be involved in a dialogue too often dominated by teachers and parents.

“We don’t listen to our parents, we listen to each other,” she said. “If you teach your kids young, they’ll carry it on the rest of their lives. You can’t just tell them in high school.”

Jimmie Mann has lived in University City for 35 years. She is one of four families who have lived on her block since it was built and said part of the problem is no one knows his or her neighbors anymore.

“We used to host block parties,” Mann said. “Now nobody knows anyone in the neighborhood well enough to depend on each other.

“If we don’t know each other and interact, our kids won’t,” she said.

Acme Price, a member of UCityUnited, said the forum was one way to begin healing racially driven division in University City.

“It begins with a dialogue,” he said. “The difference between here and a long journey is one step at a time.”

The next UCityUnited town hall forum is scheduled for Wednesday, May 2. The topic will be city services in University City and whether services are distributed fairly throughout the city’s wards. The time and location are to be announced.

In addition, a University City “Issues Link-Up” will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 8, at Flynn Park Elementary School, 7220 Waterman Ave. Residents are invited to attend and meet with other residents on issues of concern.

You can contact Erin Taylor at etaylor@yourjournal.com.