University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

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WHEN THE CATS AWAY, THE MICE WILL PLAY ollege: it could be compared to a mousehole where the inhabitants indulged their taste for mindless fun involving excessive cheese consumption, frenzied late-night mouse parties, and most important of all, NO CATS. Could a mere absence of authority actually cause this untamed savagery? Think back to the mice at the University of Michigan. Especially first-year students, abruptly cut off from the restrictive chains of Mom and Dad, suddenly found themselves en- counteringfreedom from curfews, freedom from nagging, and freedom from the shack- les of having to be good. In some cases, these mischievous mice didn ' t know what to do with this new- found freedom. Some approached the cheese cautiously, sampling it sparingly. LSA freshman Kim Palgut followed such ground rules: You can still have fun, but you have to keep your priorities straight. However others, knowing full well that the feline was far away, dove head-first into the forbidden delicacy, indulging until they vomited. Eric Paholski, an- other LSA freshman, firmly a dvocated this empowerment of freedom: College is a good place for exploration. And if this exploration includes wild partying, so be it. Yet there was a mousetrap in all of this fun and frolic: GRADES. These were what officially constituted one ' s exist- ence at the University, not the number of returnables in one ' s dorm closet, as some so believed. A Resident Advisor at South Quad who made an effort to keep her mice at bay stated, I ' ve seen too many first-year students come in here and just go all-out crazy. But when they get their first test scores back, it ' s a smack in the face. Their grades are the reality check that tell them, ' Whoa, I better get serious. ' Despite these warning signs, some stu- dents still managed to get themselves a one-way ticket out of here. They abused their recently discovered privileges to excess. Whether they drank a case of beer seven nights a week, got high under the guise of incense every hour of the day, or neglected studies to participate in the previous two, it was obvious that they were students majoring in Partying 101. As a result, the R A in- formed, Most of them never make it to their sophomore year. So how did they survive this initial mania of liberty? The young mice grew up. You become more responsible, because there ' s no one here to tell you what to do, said LSA sophomore Daniel Zarazua. They also began to realize the reason why they were at the University in the first place. If you don ' t go to class and you miss something important, you ' re screwed. You make your bed, you sleep in it, first-year student Pam Barr stated. So while in college, even though the par- ents may have been in another city or state, the students eventually learned that they must play in moderation. Because that is what university life was all about: managing time, studying hard, and taking a nibble out of the big cheese every now and then. By liken fytombh 56 Michigan Life All dressed up for his Halloween party, B. Eric Ogden dares tof be different and sport woman ' s clothing. Many U-M studenM found themselves doing very unusual things while experiencing the freedom of being away from homeB -- Jimmy Bosse :

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Michigan Life 55

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.. . - Catching a few Z ' s between classes, one U-M student found a comfortable spot on a cement ledge outside Angell Hall. -- Qreg Emmanuel Sunny Days may have been scarce in Michigan, but any fair weather attracted a crowd to the Diag. -- Qreg Emmanuel n Michigan Life 57