July 13, 2022
Before coming to Detroit for college, have a community wasn’t a very big priority of mine. I was never very involved in the culture of home or the events around me. Since being here that could not be more different. The community at College for Creative Studies (CCS) is so incredibly strong that it’s hard not to be a part of it and not only that but the community and culture in Detroit are truly historic and like nowhere else I’ve ever been. So for me, the community here is two-part, with the first part being the community at my college and the second being the community in Detroit.
I live in the dorms at my college (College for Creative Studies) which is right in Detroit’smidtown. The culture on our campus is like my own little slice of open-minded heaven. Seeing as though we’re a campus full of purely creatives it’s not hard to imagine how open-minded and accepting everyone is. Everything is a construct and everything is valid at the same time and it’s the perfect place for me. While there are two very distinct sides to life at CCS (academic and student life), across both you’ll find that people are incredibly respectful and supportive – every form of expression is just another day and it’s easy to forget that many places aren’t as progressive.
My experience tends to reside more on the student life end of things seeing as though I work on the student activities board and as a resident assistant (I’m biased that it’s the better end of the spectrum). The people that are involved here are involved in everything which makes it easy to form a community with a smaller group of people. The people that are involved generally get all the benefits of the extensive training that we go through around wellness, empathy, and diversity and inclusion. This makes them the absolute nicest and most well-rounded people I’ve ever met – that and they were just amazing, to begin with. Everyone is there to help and support each other, and won’t hesitate to make sure you’re sleeping or not putting too much pressure on yourself.
While my CCS community is very niche in student life and fluid thinking, much of Detroit is also embodied by a sense of resilience and creativity. There are a few points about the area surrounding CCS:
Now, I feel like the first thing I would like to address is the gentrification here. It’s sad to see. There is such an amazing culture in Detroit that has been here for a long time, and we need to wholeheartedly embrace and support it and the people that have been here before us – not push them out.
With that being said, I deeply appreciate many of the great things this area has. For example, the Q-line, which is the newest addition of public transportation in Detroit. Being a female-identifying person in a new city far away from my home in Florida, having a more reliable and easy-to-understand mode of transportation is very comforting to have for me. I also appreciate the amazing restaurants here! My personal favorite is Yum Village, an Afro-Caribbean place that, pre-COVID, would hold small artist markets inside. Great food and great art, and it’s within walking distance from my college. You can’t beat it!
In this area, you also have access to some of the best museums, including the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Historical Museum, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, and Henry Ford Museum, a great nightlife scene from clubs to taverns, and farmers markets, such as Eastern Market. Eastern Market is an absolute staple for both people that live here and those who visit. There’s so much fresh produce, poultry, meat, jewelry, plants, handmade goods, and just about anything else you could want. Plus, there are almost always three separate live music performances.
Carhartt is another staple – and, in my opinion, personality trait – for most Detroiters. It’s rare to find someone not wearing the iconic worker’s brand beanie, jacket, or overalls. They have a store right in Detroit, and it’s full of all the winter gear you could ever need. Come wintertime, Detroit transforms, too. There’s a tree lighting in downtown Detroit, and the roller rink turns into an ice skating rink. They also sell hot chocolate, and the streets are decorated with all the holiday lights you can imagine – it’s beautiful.
Day to day, away from downtown and Campus Martius, it can feel dreary at times. It’s cold and the snow turns muddy (not to say we at CCS don’t have our fair share of snowmen and snowball fights on campus). But the cold here is part of the culture and reflects in the people. Everyone is sturdier and more strong-willed here. Things don’t seem to faze them. It could be the difference between north and south, but I feel like it’s Detroit. It’s the people that have grown up here and opened their own stores, faced the gentrification of the past decade, and continue to do well for themselves that speak to the resilience of Detroit. It’s the kind of environment that makes a community feel strong.
Written by Sydney Kendrick, Let’s Detroit Spring 2022 Campus Ambassador
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