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

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t.llen DeGeneres answers questions from the studio audience prior to the filming of an episode guest-starring DeGeneres ' real-life girl- friend. Anne Heche. Laughtrack was part of a cooperative effort that brought DeGeneres to campus during the ' 98-99 school year. pholo courtesy of Touchstone Television ,j- aura Harris, Jon Stewart, and Elijah Wood react after Stewart is bitten by the mystery creature in Robert Rodriguez ' s The Faculty. Laughtrack had high hopes to bring Stewart to campus this year. photo courtesy of Dimension Films -fi Front Row: Carolyn Seggerson, John Machiorlatti Rebecca Sanke, Row 2: Joan Smith, Emily Renda Rachel Arfa photo by Liz Mauck is

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yV-grams founder Rishi Moudgil works with two itudents from a local elementary school on their fall jroject. K-grams, short for Kid ' s Programs, spon- ;ored a variety of programs for children this year. hoto courtesy of K-grams Front Row; (Catherine Tang, Andrea Sethi, Xiao Huang Row 2: Carrie Downes Kristen Dama, Anna Phillips, Sarah Osmer of McGrath Studic Front Row: Vicki Ha, Sandhya Krishnan, Jennifer Anderson, Sam Lahidji Row 2: Jessica Schmid , Aaron Kaufman, Elizabeth Meyer, Jigar Shah, Sarah Shumaker photo courtesy of McCirath Studios embers of USAC debate new game strategies while at Rock and Bowl. USAC held a number of social Invents for it members to lighten the mood. Iphoto by Heather Caddell University Students Against Zancer (USAC) was a student-run, aon-profit organization which strove to promote cancer awareness pn campus through various means. LJSAC sponsored fund raisers that jenefited research programs for all ypes of cancer in both children and idults. Every month, USAC sent vol- inteers to interact with terminally 11 children at Mott Children ' s Hos- sital in Ann Arbor. Other special ;vents included promoting breast cancer awareness, and distributing sunscreen before spring break to alert vacation-bound students of the hazard of getting a serious south-of- the-border sunburn. Economics senior Bill Pullano explained, USAC interested stu- dents an opportunity to become as involved as they would like. It is better than clubs that require a cer- tain time commitment from their members, because really passionate people with lots of time constraints can still be part of USAC. Front Row: Himani Patel, Julie Blaszak, Jennifer DeCapua, Katie Warren, Sheila Krishnan, Michelle Tulla Row 2: Erin Mullally, Carly Sarna, Carolyn Eichenhorn, Deborah Horning, Christina Wiles, Pamela Reid, Nicole Wood Row3: Lauren Gudritz, Will- iam Pullano, Gene Yu, Jennifer Lessens, Daniel Lis, Julie Hartoin, Andrew Valiquett photo by David Wolfe CO 5 o n G. O - i CQ CO n TJ CD Q c n E to Q (D n Q Organizations 367

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University student and HISO mem- ber, Adam Miller, dines with HISO advisor Joan Smith. Miller, who received a B.A. and an M.A. in Journalism, is the namesake of a fund for hearing impaired students. photo courtesy of Hearing Impaired Students Organization LAUSHTRAGK As a part of the University Activi- ties Center (UAC), Laughtrack pro- duced and scheduled many of the co- medic events that took place on cam- pus this year. Though Laughtrack was still a relatively new organization, Christopher Wilson, a senior biochem- istry major and Laughtrack ' s commit- tee chair, emphasized, We strive to put on the best darn comedic show this University has ever seen. In order to do so, Laughtrack scheduled a variety of comics to cater to the diversity of the student body, as well as to the various types of audiences that attended Laughtrack productions. Due to the nature of the organiza- tion, Laughtrack consisted of only a few members who helped schedule and prepare for the various comedy shows, though all students were wel- come to join. In past years, Laughtrack was not well known around campus, but after the organization programmed performances by Ellen DeGeneres and Adam Sandier, among others, students became more aware of Laughtrack ' s presence and purpose on campus. This year, the organization spon- sored a comedian from Chicago, Peter Lipsey, and planned on scheduling a show featuring Jon Stewart during the winter semester. In addition, Laughtrack, along with Black Vibes and the Black Student Union, co- sponsored the All-Star Comedy Tour; proceeds from that event went to a scholarship fund chosen by Black Vibes. Laughtrack also planned to get involved in the community on its own, possibly by holding a Com- athon, at which a few comedians would perform and the proceeds from ticket sales would help raise money for a scholarship fund or local chari- table organization. The members of Laughtrack were interested in or involved with other aspects of comedy. Wilson performed with UAC ' s Comedy Company be- fore he became involved with Laughtrack. Comedy has been part of my life for years; I think that the power to make people laugh is essen- tial to many social situations, said Wilson, and I take great pride in trying to provide the student body, through programming a variety of comedians for campus events, with opportunities to laugh. Laughtrack member Jeffrey Wank, a senior in religion and sports management, was also involved with the Comedy Com- pany before he joined Laughtrack. Both Wilson and Wank felt that hav- ing ties to comedy was important in analyzing which potential acts were funny enough to schedule for a cam- pus performance. As a result of their efforts, the students who were involved with Laughtrack eagerly shared something they loved with the rest of the campus and Ann Arbor communities. 1 nt Row: Andrew Grove, Jonathon Grech, Dan 1 ines p courtesy of Benjamin Kaufman n O Front Row: Nikhil Rajpal, Raya Miranda Prabhu, Sid Mangharam, Murli Nagwani, Vivek Tannan Row 2: Ratan Borkar, Vishal Mehta, Aradhana Khaitan, Seshasdri Raghavan, Harsha Parwardhan, Ramkey Anantha Krishnan Row 3: Ramanan Kartik, Suresh Vontivillu, Dev Rudra, Tushar Narsana photo by David Wolfe . J m Front Row: Jeffrey Wank, Christopher Wilson photo by Liz I . u- i Organizations 369