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Journal of the Knight-Wallace Fellows at the University of Michigan Volume 20, No. 2 Spring 2011 KWF Travel: A change of scenery changes lives —By Amber Hunt ’11 s he stood outside of the Afro-Brazil Museum in the heart Folha de Sao Paulo headquarters and looked around and there Aof Sao Paulo, Detroit Free Press Fellow James Thomas felt were 360 degrees of skyscrapers,” he said. “There was an odd something he never anticipated while 5,000 miles from his life- sense of being in the first and third world at the same time.” long Detroit home. He had never been this far away, yet felt The Fellows’ backgrounds range from travel newbies to like he fit in. world explorers. Matthew Power, contributing editor of Harper’s “We were walking across that covered concrete lot, and here Magazine and the most traveled of the 2011 Fellows, had regaled are middle-aged skateboarders working on their kick-flips, clus- us with tales of assignments in India, Afghanistan and the ters of smiling kids on what looked like a class field trip, and out Amazon but came away struck by the design of the trip. “It on the pavement, seniors Amber Hunt offered the rare chance riding bikes and power- to directly compare two walking,” Thomas re- fascinating and dynamic called. “I could’ve been places,” he said, “and to any one of them.” hold them up to the light More than that, he and understand them in a envisioned uprooting way that no ordinary as- himself and either finding signment would afford.” or creating a job in Brazil. Elijah Van It was a revelation square- Benschoten, a Fellow’s ly in line with the partner and an artist who Fellowship’s horizon- now hopes to pursue broadening goals. Travel In Buenos Aires, '11 Fellows discuss Argentine civil law with Supreme Court Justice and Fulbright opportunities Vice President of the Court Elena Highton de Nolasco (front row, middle). has been a part of the in Argentina, was equally Knight-Wallace experience for the past decade, and those who impressed by the trip’s conception. “To me, it speaks to the pro- attended this fall’s trip to Brazil and Argentina—which included gram’s savviness in getting meetings and exposure with leaders all Fellows and a handful of spouses and partners—said the excur- that most people even in that country wouldn’t have access to.” sion was about far more than sightseeing, seminars or bonding The trip abroad reassured Emily Richmond—education re- with their fellow Fellows. porter with the Las Vegas Sun—that while she might be on sab- It was about opening doors and shining light on opportuni- batical, that didn't mean her professional skills had to rust. The ties most had never before considered. group’s debates and probing questions of seminar guests carried “Seeing firsthand such an important and emerging nation over onto bus rides between site visits, after-dinner walks and like Brazil helped me reshape my perception of the world and even early morning jogs in Sao Paulo’s botanical park. its players,” said Nick Perry, higher-education reporter for the “Every day I learned something from my colleagues,” Seattle Times. Richmond said. “I never failed to be grateful to be in such “It made me contemplate the importance of international thoughtful company.” news and how in the U.S. we need to avoid the tendency to Politico Fellow Harry Siegel and his wife stayed on for three become too inward-looking.” weeks after the official trip, enough time to internalize some The Paulistas’ habit of equipping their buildings with heli- strong impressions. “Seeing how U.S. politics are viewed and ports and choppering to appointments around town to avoid truly reported in South America was a healthy reminder both of the astonishing traffic challenges impressed CNN.com producer Todd impact our policies have, and the conspiracies—real and imag- Leopold. “There was a moment when we stood on the helipad of ined—that they inspire,” he said. “The scale of Sao Paulo just blew —continued on page 7 From the Head Fellow An education: Brazil baffles and delights Fellows —By Charles R. Eisendrath ’75 — Alec MacGillis ’11 THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING THERE sk the 2011 Fellows for their impres- goers and Elizabeth Bishop aficionados. Schwartsman ’09, star columnist for Folha Asions of Sao Paolo and they will recall We were happy to help correct that. de Sao Paolo and lead organizer of the eople notice when they’re being the national, bipartisan policy of perma- try straps shoot’n iron mores of the Wild easily its boisterous energy, its chaotic sea Before the Fellows could get down to Brazil trip, who with his wife Josiane and Pwatched. They act differently, particu- nent warfare has on the local drain com- West, presence means tough-minded of high-rises, the appealing openness of sober study, a more sensory acclimation daughter Sophia laid out an extraordinary larly when it’s by someone who knows mission. Reports could start with how monitoring of gun shops and gun shows the locals. But inquire where they were in was in order. Within hours of arrival they spread, an augur of culinary indulgences what to look for. Somehow, however, the budgeted $428.5 million a day going balanced by engaged coverage of how Birgit Rieck to come. the elemental part of journalism called to support the efforts in Iraq and hunting contributes to the economy, the The next day brought a visit to the presence got lost in the smoke of our de- Afghanistan might instead help reduce environment and the ethos of what it Embu das Artes colonial-era street market cade-long professional sweat lodge on the amount of the deficit owed by each means to be part of the food chain, if only outside the city, followed by an extended standards. I’m talking about actual, feet- one of us. The increased taxes and de- for a weekend. Yes, it’s complicated. You sojourn at Casa di Lica, a lovely inn nes- on-ground presence. Not the virtual kind, creased services, after all, are local. can’t disentangle it if you’re not there. tled in the hills that offered an endless as in the Detroit Free Press announcing We don’t have much journalism about stream of delicacies as toucans looked on atop page one, “On Guard for 179 years”— such things and it shows in the lack of from the trees above. Luckily, the group— with the skeleton editorial staff permitted public debate even as we prosecute two joined at this point by KWF board mem- by the Gannett Company. I mean bearing wars few understand. ber Jill Abramson of the New York Times witness by having reporters—that’s right, The New York Times literally owned —was able to work off some of the calories reporters—in the police stations and sub- the Pentagon Papers story but its impact that evening at the Escola de Samba Perola stations, in the courtrooms, in the legisla- was amplified exponentially by hundreds Negra. At first, only the boldest Fellows ture, the statehouse, governmental agen- of journalists elsewhere, exploring dozens took part in the arresting spectacle of cies, the banks, even when there’s no news of angles. The Washington Post broke what dozens of dancers shimmying around the that minute or hour…even entire days. became “Watergate,” but Nixon resigned warehouse-like hall to the relentless per- Presence means covering not only because a huge pack of newshounds bay- cussive din of the band. But finally even Federal Reserve decisions, but the actions ing up and down Main Street threatened No rest for the Fellows: even pool time is seminar time; CNN Turk’s Ferhat Boratav the laggards (i.e., the men) were coaxed (seated on right) discusses Turkey and its relationship with Latin America. of its regional affiliates and the local his local backers who had their own elec- onto the floor by the persuasive overtures banks, too. This would include why after tions to win, beginning with coverage by Sao Paulo—that is, put a map in front of were enjoying an all-choral program in the of one of the house dancers. Even the rep- fattening themselves with Federal cash, the local media. Presence gave Dr. Martin them and ask them to retrace their steps— handsome Sala Sao Paulo, a concert hall resentative of the Grey Lady was an enthu- they prefer to starve their communities Luther King and others a forum to explain and they will look at you in dumb terror. converted from a train station. That eve- siastic participant in the decidedly un-grey for loans. If you are a Somebody, it is the civil rights movement, even during the Even your humble correspondent, who is ning, they visited the home of Helio scene. —continued on page 7 more difficult to permit yourself indul- Presence means medical reporting long lulls between news events. To vary- often less than humble about his sense of Birgit Rieck gences if you know that in the next tennis that includes regular visits to hospitals ing degrees, presence enabled those dedi- direction, found himself utterly disorient- game, scout meeting or cocktail party you with questions about the way care is deliv- cated to improving the environment and ed in the amorphous, boundless mass of risk being seen not as a Captain of the ered. It is far easier for administrators to building rights for women and gays. this archetypal mega-city. Universe but rather as a capital creep.

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