biography

Who is observing who?

Ignorance

Subdivisions...a good thing?

Where would you send your kids?

letter

DEFEND WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY YOURS

          Let me begin by saying thank you to Kristin Koptiuch for offering this class to her students who might not normally be able to experience something so eye-opening.  I would like to give a big thank you to all the residents of South Phoenix for allowing us to partake in their community.  I would also like to thank all the students who took time to make a memory map of their life for our web site and all the numerous speakers who taught us about South Phoenix.   South Phoenix is full of culture at almost every corner and I hope that it will stay that way for years to come.

          Last but not least, I would like to give a huge thank you to my group members Irina Bahl for her honest and positive outlook on things, Vanesa Gaio for doing all the driving without once complaining and always having a smile on her face, and Deborah Hoffman for being a great listener and always giving her honest opinion. I am very happy that we explored South Phoenix in groups, which made the learning experience more intriguing.  I was able to see South Phoenix, not only from my perspective, but from the perspective of my group members as well. 

          While in South Phoenix, I saw all the "improvement" that the city is trying to undertake.  Although, I do believe that they are trying to make South Phoenix a safer place to live, they are destroying little by little the culture that makes South Phoenix so great.  For instance, the Salt River Project is planning to build a golf course and have little shops and dining places around it and they are also constructing a type of "nature walk".  Why they are doing this, I do not understand, when the members of South Phoenix wanted to have built there a fishing pond, playgrounds, and other things that bring the family together.  Yet, I hope that you as the members of South Phoenix, stand up and tell the city what you want.  You live in South Phoenix, so it should be your choice what is going to be built to benefit your community.

          Also, there are now huge companies bringing in more expensive stores and restaurants, which are trying too replace the smaller, privately owned stores and restaurants.  On the one hand, it will bring more money into your community and the value of your houses will increase.  Yet on the other hand, the cost of living is going to increase significantly.  For most residents in South Phoenix, having to pay more money is almost not possible, this will lead to moving all the low income residents to a new location. 

          I hope that all the residents of South Phoenix, realize that this does not need to happen.  You alone as the residents of South Phoenix have the power to put your foot down and defend what is rightfully yours.  If you as a community come together and let your voice be heard, you can make South Phoenix (your home) into whatever you imagine it could be, it is up to you.  The time to stand up is now, because time is running out.  A challenge never hurt anyone, so go defend what is yours.

I hope to see you around,

Magdalene Cox