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

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Lighting up the entire neigh- borhood, industrial and operations engineering senior Mike Gluhanich ' s house is cov- ered in lights. The holiday deco- rations illuminated State Street well into February. photo by Jennifer Johnson Glowing in the cold Ann Arbor night, the holiday lights of State Street create a festive atmosphere. Storefronts along State Street and South University displayed Christmas trees, menorahs and other holi- day decorations. photo by Jon Hommer 1-5 Front Row: Diane Tolentino, Alina Chu, Row 2: Queenic Yip, Tiara McKenzie, S; Kathryn Cuneaz, Lauren Malta, Elizabeth photo by Nathan Busch Archanal lesai, Michelle VanDevenrer, Lauren Dolmyer, Mel- I Kok Sirn, Rachel Tronstein, Tina Hsieh, Jenny Li, I Amanda Morton, Joy Mayo, Dawn Picklo, Sierra no, Christy Russell 3-0 Front Row: Jessica Welch, Rachel Bier, Leah H Linda Nishida, Kelly Utrup, Michelle Graji Kang, Kasey Boike, Annie Williams, Shun photo by Nathan Busch gskc I, Ingrid Seto, Serlcne Chan, Archana Shenoy (arsai Walker, Linda Choo, Sarah Mignano, Sharber, Heidi Smalley, Elizabeth Tsai, Grace mgarajan, Hoi Suen, Lokyuen Hon Row heibach, Jamie Hiner, Paula Decastro, slie Gabay-Swanston ; Ob. Fluff, Andrea Goeman, J photo by Nathan Busch , Ameerah Muhammad Housing + 259

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deck the halls From ghosts and witches to Christmas trees and menorahs, University students decorated their residences on every possible occasion. Whether they were practicing for life after college or merely taking a break from the old routine of coming back from class to houses that never quite felt like home, holiday decorations were a bright spot in the lives of many students. Students enjoyed decorating for many reasons. Around Hallow- een, students like organizational studies senior Jennifer Schmidt constructed elaborate decorations out of colored paper. Schmidt commented, Decorating always puts me in a better mood, and I can enjoy the decorations for a couple weeks before and after each holiday. Besides, I like surprising my roommates, who can always use some holiday spirit. Some students, especially those who lived off campus, were more elaborate in their decorating schemes. Mike Gluhanich, an indus- trial and operations engineering senior, lived in a house on State Street with five friends who were all active decorators. They used profits from selling parking spaces in their yard on football game days to purchase holiday decorations, and worked together to create festive masterpieces in their house and front yard. For the Christmas season this year, Gluhanich ' s house boasted two Christmas trees, by Krysia Eustice cinnamon-scented pinecones, mistletoe, and over 4000 multi-col- ored outside lights. Because decorating required such an effort, Gluhanich com- mented, I don ' t think we ' re going to take down all those lights for a while, even though we put them up before Thanksgiving because we didn ' t want to do it after it got really cold. Fortunately, Gluhanich got some decorating help from his sister, LSA sophomore Laura, and her friends. She said, My bro ther ' s Christmas tree looked incomplete with a tree skirt and no gifts, so my roommates and I wrapped up a bunch of empty boxes to put underneath the tree. Halloween and Christmas were not the only holidays students were enthusiastic about; many became spirited for St. Patrick ' s Day as well. Gluhanich and his housemates used up the remainder of their football money to buy hundreds of green balloons and kegs of green beer. He explained, We have so much fun decorating that we try to plan our parties around holidays. Despite the fun, Gluhanich did not envision himself decorating so extensively in the future, because as he put it, Being in college gives you permission to be extraordinarily gaudy. Once you ' re out, you have to have a little bit of class, but for now, it ' s all about the attention we get. X | fel=;

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pho meeting the neighbors Despite the heliocentric attitudes of many University students, a world separated from campus life did exist in Ann Arbor. For some, this world infringed upon campus life when neighbors con- sisted not only of fellow college kids, but real residents of Ann Arbor. A common interaction was one between fraternity members and their neighbors, because many fraternities were located some dis- tance from campus amidst Ann Arbor families. Though relations were typically civil, residents had a bone to pick with student neighbors on issues like parking and noise. Spanish junior Jon Snyder commented, The problems neighbors have with fraternities arise because they have lived peacefully in Ann Arbor their whole lives, and aren ' t used to parties and the hours college kids keep. When a fraternity moves into a neighborhood after none existed for years, it ' s a hard adjustment for residents to make. Snyder also mentioned that while many neighbors were nice, others were quick to call in noise violations. He said, Some residents won ' t even come talk to us first and let us calm things down; they ' ll go straight to the police and we get heavily fined for s ,ind even Rush. Many students ' I ' d. In- introducing them- by Krysia Eustice selves to neighbors at the beginning of the year and notifying them of upcoming parties. Junior biology major Justin Bright added, We ' ve even invited our neighbors to parties to improve relations with them. If they feel we ' re approachable, they ' re less likely to try and get us in trouble. Another point of contention between town residents and stu- dents was the parking nightmare. Many neighborhood associations felt that students were crowding the streets, making it difficult for visitors or party guests to park near their own houses. The Oxbridge neighborhood tried to implement a permit system for street parking because of the many Greek houses that existed in the area, but no efforts had been successful so far. Students in the neighborhood felt the benefits of free and available parking outweighed the hassles of living near town residents. LSA junior Terri Brown explained, When I left town over Christmas break, I felt much better about leaving my car parked on the street in our residential neighborhood than I would have if I lived only around students. Though issues with neighbors were common, everyone was aware that such situations would persist as long as students continued to rent houses within the Ann Arbor community.