Sunday, February 9, 2003

ROCHELLE RILEY: Readers add thoughts on U-M policy
Shawn Sheldon of Cheboygan put the point succinctly in his reply to my recent column about the University of Michigan's affirmative effort to guarantee educational opportunities to minorities.

ROCHELLE RILEY: 'American Idol' misses real Detroit
That is the Detroit the nation is used to seeing, whether it's in the dark despair of Eminem's film "8 Mile" or the loss of a money-making music factory such as Motown to nurture talent.

Friday, January 24, 2003

ROCHELLE RILEY: Reality TV is fame seekers' last resort
It is painfully obvious, based on the general direction of American television, that the most coveted thing in America truly is that elusive 15 minutes of fame we all grow up wanting, and, as lore holds, we are due at some time.

Wednesday, January 22, 2003

ROCHELLE RILEY: Find King's message in your own life
It is telling about America and our times that our most important national debates still involve ideals that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. championed most of his life: nonviolence and equal opportunity for minorities.

Sunday, January 19, 2003

ROCHELLE RILEY: A crisis all parents face: Letting go
A friend's daughter recently got her driver's license. That first day, she drove 10 miles to a classmate's house to study. Then the pair drove to another girl's house 12 miles away.

Friday, January 17, 2003

ROCHELLE RILEY: Nun follows a call to help nonreaders
For Sister Marie Schoenlein, the goal has been the same since 1988: to wipe out adult illiteracy in Detroit.

Wednesday, January 15, 2003

ROCHELLE RILEY: MLK used by U-M foes of fairness
It is amazing to me how often opponents of the University of Michigan's policies to create a diverse campus cite the Rev. Martin Luther King's dream as their motivation.

Sunday, January 12, 2003

ROCHELLE RILEY: Justice bows to the rich and famous
What is happening with him could happen only in America, and possibly only in Los Angeles.

Friday, January 10, 2003

ROCHELLE RILEY: SUV haters are attacking wrong target
At least that's what Americans for Fuel Efficient Cars is saying in commercials that begin airing on TV Sunday. The group says folks who drive sports utility vehicles waste gas and make the United States depend on countries that fund terrorists to fill our tanks.

Wednesday, January 8, 2003

ROCHELLE RILEY: Research can tell what we already know
I've always been skeptical of scientific studies. They are like polls; the information you get depends on whom you ask. And, like polls, they sometimes tell you things that are blatantly obvious.

Sunday, December 29, 2002

ROCHELLE RILEY: Holiday joy need not end on Christmas
Any other year, right about now, we'd be adding even more decorations to our Christmas tree, getting it ready for its second life, which usually lasts through Feb. 15. But this year, we are the home without a Christmas tree.

Friday, December 27, 2002

ROCHELLE RILEY: 35 new places for adults to learn to read
The campaign to improve adult literacy across metro Detroit will get a huge boost in January.

Sunday, December 22, 2002

ROCHELLE RILEY: A year with enough Gore, Lott and J. Lo
As we near the end of another tumultuous year, I offer a few musings: On Al Gore deciding not to run for president in 2004. It was a no-brainer. The party that couldn't convince America that Gore could run the country without a saxophone had already abandoned him. And if the Democrats couldn't unite to back a candidate who already won the popular vote once, then what was the point of him running again?

Monday, December 16, 2002

ROCHELLE RILEY: With mom's help, a daughter survives trials, and thrives
Adrian Williams raises the gavel at a student council meeting. A junior, she is president of the council. On one of their summer Mondays together, Virginia Williams, left, shares a laugh with her daughter, Adrian. The Highland Park mother took off work every Monday last summer so she could spend time with Adrian. "It's been a rough year for Adrian," she said. "So I thought it would be a good use of my vacation time to spend with her this summer."

Friday, December 13, 2002

ROCHELLE RILEY: Americans need to speak out in anger
I don't mean the music and the bell-bottoms and the big frizzy hair. I don't mean the drugs and the sex and the laissez-faire.

Wednesday, December 11, 2002

ROCHELLE RILEY: Barbie hustles children with sultry persona
It's time to shop for Christmas, and I'm frantically searching for the new must-have doll.

Sunday, December 8, 2002

ROCHELLE RILEY: The interview should have been canceled
First, I've admired your God-given talent for too long to just stop caring. Second, even when you were at your nuttiest, with the stupors and strange utterances and concert cancellations, I didn't criticize. I was worried about you.

Friday, December 6, 2002

ROCHELLE RILEY: Four young men overcome a culture of violence and reach success in their hometown
This is the story of four boys who lived in and around violence, but never let it kill their dreams.

Wednesday, December 4, 2002

ROCHELLE RILEY: Family church, died 1999, 130 years old
We spent Thanksgiving evening visiting my mother at the nursing home that has been her home for years. After she'd fallen asleep, we headed back to my aunt's house, the family gathering place since the floods that accompanied Hurricane Floyd drowned my growing-up house three years ago.

Wednesday, November 27, 2002

ROCHELLE RILEY: Being Mom is turning into hands-off role
It was a typical weeknight with the typical chore of trying to squeeze five hours of activity into two hours of time -- dinner, catching up, reviewing the activity planner and homework.

Sunday, November 24, 2002

ROCHELLE RILEY: 25 Things We Love About Detroit
The negative images in Eminem's movie can't hold a candle to the way we Detroiters bash our own city. As a matter of fact, the depressing image the film projects pales in comparison to the reasons we residents give as to why Detroit is actually, uh, hell.

Friday, November 22, 2002

ROCHELLE RILEY: Faith-charity link tested by the times
I walked into the Islamic Institute of Knowledge, a popular mosque in Dearborn, and approached the woman at the desk.

Sunday, November 17, 2002

ROCHELLE RILEY: Only players who cheated should pay
I haven't been able to keep my mind off the University of Michigan student athletes who are suffering the shame of punishment for past players' deeds.

Wednesday, November 13, 2002

ROCHELLE RILEY: Parents go back to school to take MEAP
Worse, I wasn't sure that the math portion of the MEAP test for parents bore any resemblance to the 18th-Century math I once studied.