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Show The Daily Utah Chronicle DEPARTURE S Friday, February 26, 1999 Christy Karras, Feature Editor: c.karraschronicle.utah.edu The Daily Utah Chronicle - f 7 Buyer Beware' is the Theme When Making Spring Travel Plans Anne Ornatek Daily Illinois (U. Illinois) Champaign, ILL In order to spend a relaxing spring break under the sun and not in an airport terminal, there are precautions students should take to avoid E) scams. "The No. i way students get scammed is when a friend of theirs works for a spring break outfit," said lawyer Tom Betz of Student Legal Services. "If the friend can get a certain number of their friends signed up, they end up getting a free trip. It sounds great, but the person selling the package usually doesn't know what the package consists of." The first thing to look at when making reservations for a spring break trip are the details from the company offering the trip, Betz said. "Some of these packages can be too good to be true," he said. "Ask questions. If you're going down with io people, you don't want to end up with a small hotel room with five cots." Another problem travelers can have is paying a damage deposit before checking into their rooms. "If you get to the hotel and have to pay a damage deposit in order to get the room, that might be the money you were planning on spending on food," said Betz. "If you choose not to pay the deposit, often times you won't get a refund." . , 5 suggests that students first make sure their hotel exists, and Betz then check to see if there is a ; .'s . v ' fAg f j dam- - see spring break page 8 Wisdom from travel gurus pack lightly for your trip. Art or Junk? Residents, Officials Debate Detroit Project polka- - Melissa Giannini out the windows at the bright The State News (Michigan State U.) dotted scene enveloped by dilapidated buildings and vacant lots. Detroit residents Sherry Franklin DETROIT A purple polka dot marks an abandoned building as you turn off Interstate 75 onto Gratiot Avenue. d A multicolored car speeds by. Soon, they're everywhere spotting garbage cans, broken windows, the street until you reach Heidelberg Street, home of the controversial Heidelberg Pro- and Kim Mitchell brought the children to visit the site. "They're the ones that bring us down here," Franklin said from the car, pointing at the backseat. "But people visit from all over the world. That's what amazes me." "I hope they keep this around for years to come," Mitchell said. "They already took the bus," said Sherry Franklin, pointing to the empty lot that was cleared Thurs- E) polka-dotte- ject, The project, which some see as art and others-a- s junk, is a colorful collection of broken toys, discarded furniture and clothes, draped over trees or attached to houses. A few visitors migrated Tuesday to see what was left of the project after city bulldozers began dismantling it less than an hour after a restraining order was lifted Thursday by Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Amy Hathaway. Sitting in the backseat of a red car, elementary school students Sierra and Sanchez Franklin gazed day. The project, created by artist Tyree Guyton, has been the center of controversy between project workers and the city for years. A restraining order issued in September prevented city workers from the project, said dismantling Jenenne Whitfield, the Heidelberg Project director. But when the order was lifted, the city began taking artwork off of trees and bulldozing privately owned houses that were part of the "But people visit from all over the world. That's what amazes me. 99 said. "We get a lot of complaints that it is just unbearable in the summertime." Detroit residents who live in the area are divided over the issue. One community group doesn't want the project on the street. Other residents enjoy the attention it receives internationally. Lisa Carlucci, a resident of one of d the houses along Heisaid elements Street, delberg removed by the city weren't a major change and that the crux of the project still exists. She enjoys the popularity the street has gained over the years stemming from the project, she said. "It's positive for the neighborhood," she said. "It gives it a different look." Thomas Watson, a Detroit resident and high school student who was raised on Heidelberg Street, said it was a positive move by the city to remove some of the project. "I don't really like this," Watson said. "This is the street I was born on. To me, it's junky. They took a lot of stuff off the trees because it's rat- polka-dotte- SHERRY FRANKLIN PROJECT VISITOR project, she said. Monday, Hathaway said the city must not damage artwork attached to property owned by the artist. Michelle Zdrodowski, deputy press secretary for Mayor Dennis Archer, said the city of Detroit always had the right to remove things from its own property and that is what they did. She said the city responded to residents' requests for the project's removal. "Some of the residents want the project removed because it attracts animals and rodents," she infested." Watson's family has since moved from the street. "It drives a lot of people away from this street," he said. "It used to be a quiet neighborhood." Bruce Taylor, an artist and Kresge Art Museum volunteer, showed some of his art about five years ago in an Ann Arbor gallery where Guy-to- n also was showing. Guyton has worked on the Heidelberg Project for the past 12 years. Taylor said he thinks the city should turn the project into a park, rather than tear it down. He describes the work as outsider art, or visionary, representing the decay of the city and the person at the bottom of the pecking order. Images from the site include vividly painted hubcaps lining a low, wire fence. Plastic doll heads and legs stick out of an abandoned car and a Ken doll head stares out from a large tree trunk. A "Frozen Custard" sign, stop signs and street signs are placed on the sides of see art page 8 |
