I can't really recall the exact moment when I first heard about the project but I do remember saying "Reisner is officially crazy but somehow I want in!" The conversation came about after some of my classmates commenting their plans for the next semester. Some would go on to graduate, some had a few classes left, and like me were wondering what our best options would be. I one of those Prof. Reisner decided to tell us about his plans for the upcoming semester.
Now, he's known for being out there so the project was not the surprise, the surprise was the place and truly, his excitement. The project was to create a newspaper in his print news reporting class that would cover Liberty City in a way that it's not usually covered. Liberty City is a predominantly black neighborhood, mostly under poverty line and it has "gained" the reputation of unsafe and quite honestly, dangerous to even drive by. The one things I knew about Liberty City before this was that at night not even cops got out of their cars there and many times, the people of the community were the ones seeking justice for themselves. I was advised at one point not to go anywhere near because the color of my skin made me a perfect target and things could happen to me and no one would really care.
Now, I'm all for a challenge and the idea of working in a newspaper, and better yet, starting was exciting! But the thought of it being Liberty City kind of scared me. Not necessarily for my safety, even thought it was a factor, but more because I didn't know the response we would get. Now, I guess you can say I kind of doubted Prof. Reisner's abilities because I didn't think about all the work he would do before us doing any kind of work as a class. To be honest, that made all the difference. Nevertheless, when it came time to pick my classes I knew there was no other class I could and should be in, I'm all for a revolution and whoever didn't see this project as such was just plain blind.
The more I heard about the project and the more he discussed it, the more at ease I felt. I knew he would do everything possible to get us "in the door" of the community and that this would be an experience few of us would be able to forget. So far so good!
