Six years after the Michigan Mall opened in November 1974, business and community leaders found themselves trying "to mix commerce, compassion" as the number of vagrants — who some called 'undesirables' — frequenting the mall were seen as discouraging shoppers. The Enquirer and News on Nov. 16, 1980, published three pages of articles, including an editorial, examining the conflict. Among the stories was a first-person account titled "I was a bum on the Michigan Mall" by columnist Mark Nixon, who spent two nights and three days on the streets.