Preparing for Wiliston

At the end of March we decided to split up into groups and help Harry distribute and collect community development surveys in Wiliston, SC. (We will be holding a community meeting on April 26th at 11:00 am to discuss survey results with the community participants). The first group to spend the day helping Harry reported back to us in class that the town was extremely small and unsafe. There were apparently streets that some people felt uneasy going alone down. They also felt that most complaints from the residents of Wiliston revolved around not feeling like there is any recreation in the area. The citizens felt safe, but also felt that their children needed a better environment, especially when it comes to education. 

I'm curious to see for myself if I feel unsafe. For some reason, I don't think this will be an issue for me, but I definitely want to experience the town with an open-mind, free of judgement. I know that my group has four people total and each of us needs to take an assigned area of the town and get seven surveys filled out. I'm not concerned with time. I don't think it will be a problem getting surveys filled out, but I am very excited to talk to residents about their personal concerns regarding the future of Wiliston. 

Rules of Engagement

Last Monday- April 14th- I walked into the poster contest and stood proudly by our class poster about Rules of Engagement. The board portrayed a timeline from last semester's Mayor's Institute class to the classwork done this semester through Denmark, SC. We included pictures from the communities in SC that each group helped with, as well as the Mayor's colloquium in Charleston. I think our board was original in design, especially Aaron's idea to illustrate those students within Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and City and Regional Planning, as well as the projects each student participated in. The class worked well in designing and creating the board display. I found that many people were interested in the class itself and what exactly which cities we were involved in. A few professors seemed impressed with the continuous work we have done, and I found it rewarding to explain what community development entails and the steps that take place to gain public participation and awareness about local issues.