Thursday, March 28, 2024

‘The Ave’ highlights Lansing identity

January 8, 2012

Students and faculty have begun work on a project that features the unique and often overlooked stories within the Lansing community.

The project is slated to run along Michigan Avenue and showcase information about local businesses and residents in a multimedia format.

“Students will focus on collecting stories from people who frequent, live or have businesses on Michigan Avenue between Pennsylvania (Avenue) and (US-127),” said journalism professor Geri Zeldes, a project contributer.

The eight chosen stories then will be published on interactive, electronic placards, said Vincent Delgado, civic engagement specialist in MSU’s Residential College in the Arts and Humanities and lead collaborator on the project.

“The idea is that you will be able to hear, see or access a story about the place where you are standing,” Delgado said.

Those with smart phones will be able to scan a Quick Response code on the placard that will allow the user to access various forms of multimedia related to the placard. If someone does not have a smart phone, there will be a number provided for the user to call and receive an audio version of the information, Delgado said.

MSU received $28,500 for the project through a “Sense of Place” grant from the city of Lansing.

Zeldes began work on The Ave project with one of her journalism classes last semester and said she plans to continue to collect more stories with students this semester. She said other professors also are working on the project in their classes, and some MSU graduates are involved as well.

Emily Lawler, a 2011 alumna and current Lansing resident, already has put together a sample placard of the Gone Wired Cafe, 2021 East Michigan Ave., in Lansing.

“I really like getting to know a city through the people that live there, and to be a part of that experience for someone visiting my city is an honor,” Lawler said.

Lawler said she thinks Lansing has a lot of character and individuality.

“(The Ave) is hopefully going to instill some pride and excitement for the growing and developing cultural landscapes of the Lansing area because there are so many great stories,” Zeldes said.

The placards are projected to be in place between April and June of this year, Delgado said.

“We hope to wrap this up much bigger than Michigan Avenue,” he said. “This is just a pilot at this point to see if the concept works and to ensure that there is a technological backbone developed to be able to scale up the project to other avenues around Michigan.”

Delgado said The Ave project serves as a unique opportunity for students to connect with the Lansing region by hearing stories and passing them on.

“In Lansing, it’s not that we are concerned about our identity being lost,” Delgado said. “We are concerned that we have a strong identity that needs to be found.”

Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.

Discussion

Share and discuss “‘The Ave’ highlights Lansing identity” on social media.