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Resident Artists and Theater Companies: Michigan Classical Repertory Theatre Some of our friends and colleagues: Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority Ypsilanti Convention and Visitors Bureau Ann Arbor Area
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Riverside Arts Center, Spring, 2007, Newsletter • Another theater in downtown Ypsi • Artist gone too far
• Ypsilanti Heritage Festival kids’ event scheduled for the RAC: Let’s get artful as we choose a new Ypsi High mascot
Ypsilanti High School needs a mascot, and choosing one ought to be a lot easier than Ann Arbor’s labored processes in choosing “Sky High” for their new school’s name. Say good-bye to institutional racism and let’s get artful as we choose a new theme we can sing and dance to and build positive school spirit. Towns with ordinary names too often wind up with teams with ordinary mascots. Ypsi should be able to do better. A regular reader and supporter of all things artistic and historic suggests we revisit one of the Ypsi’s earliest industries in our new mascot as we recall the Ypsilanti Woolen Mills. The “Ypsi Undies” not only brings our history into the present, but suggests highly creative uniforms for the sports teams. Union suits with “trap doors” certainly should not embarrass today’s teens who seem to like their underwear showing anyway. If “indies” are so hip, “Undies” just might work too. Let’s give it a chance. Still others would like to see the community’s Greek Heritage featured with “ Ypsilanti” printed in a modern version of the Greek alphabet: ΨПΣΙΛΑΝΤΙ. Greek tradition continues today. There are plenty of “Trojan” and “Spartan” mascots around, but where else might we see a team called the Mercuries (fleet of foot), the Marathons, or the Olympians? Cheerleaders, since they are often stereotyped as sweet and nutty, might qualify as the “Baclava Squad.” Faculty connected with language arts skills will certainly have some thoughts on yearbook, newspaper, and club themes in the Grecian tradition. It’s a great opportunity. Never running short of something to argue about, the Ypsilanti community can now weigh in on what kind of nickname to give to its high school’s extracurricular activities. Pop quiz: How about a mascot that does NOT end in the letter S? There may be more than you think: Sox, Heat, Jazz, Avalanche, Fighting Irish, Shock, Fury, Illini, Crimson and Crimson Tide, Magic, Wild, Spirit, Lightning, Cardinal, United, Galaxy, Minutemen, Liberty, Orangemen, Thundering Herd, Wolfpack, Liberty, Green Wave, Red Storm, Big Red, Midshipmen, Mean Green, Golden Hurricane, and Phoenix. There’s a start. Can you name the schools or cities these athletic teams represent?
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A Los Angeles exhibition by photographer Jill Greenberg last August featured 27 two- and three-year-old kids crying, scenes that Greenberg provoked by offering each one a lollipop and then snatching it away. She admitted that the photos were “upsetting” but denied critics’ accusations of child abuse. 
Good bye, Braves; hello, Whatever