In one of our first meetings as an organizing committee, we reviewed responses from a survey that had been sent out to MWUX 2017 attendees. We asked respondents to share general thoughts or concerns they had when Chicago was announced as the 2018 host city. One particular response really stuck with me: Someone had said they didn’t want to attend the conference in Chicago because they fear going to a city with so much violent crime.

As someone who currently lives on the southwest side of Chicago and is rehabbing a home in Detroit, I often find myself defending communities that have to combat widespread negative perceptions. More often than not, these conversations end with me suggesting they visit these cities/neighborhoods to see for themselves and in return receiving a hard eye roll. I decided to take on the role of Excursion Lead and made it my personal goal to try to chip away at this problem I continually witness.