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

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20 Squirrels Kristv Parker

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jf!ft: i ic success. Michigan Life 19

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I don ' t think squirrels here are necessarily friend- lier. It ' s just that they are less afraid. Kind of like ' hey, whatever ' when you walk up to them. They ' re just used to all the people. Junior micro-biology major, Jennie Barnard Frisks Kristy Parker (j-raduate Tim Brundage feeds his furry friend a peanut outside the Diag. Squirrels mingled with students as they rested in between classes or during a lunch break. Business B y a tree on the Diag, a chubby squirrel finds his afternoon acorn. These furry critters resorted to nature when students did not have an extra bagel at their disposal. ome joked that half of the Ann Arbor population consisted of those affiliated with the University and that the other half made chirping noises and had long, bushy tails. It seemed that tens of thousands of squirrels called the green, well-treed University campus their home. Stu- dents learned that sharing the terrain with these frisky critters was not always easy. A myriad of furry faces greeted students as they walked to class. Some squirrels seemed happy to see the young students happily going about their day while others appeared to harbor a deep resent- ment for the human inhabitants of the city. Each squirrel brought his or her own story to the campus ' landscape and it was fitting that the campus squirrel population itself reflected the diversity for which the University so fervently aimed. Students were divided on the issue of feeding the squirrels. While many newcomers paid little attention to this buck-toothed element of society, students who had been around awhile paid attention and respect to the Ann Arbor squirrels. First-year LSA student Adil Daudi re- marked, It never occurred to me to feed the squirrels. I guess I am not an animal person. I just moved here so maybe I just need time to get used to them. Older students seemed wiser to the squirrel culture. Squirrels come up to my win- dow when I am sleeping, explained Joe Rom, second-year graduate student in architecture. They scratch until I come and feed them, bread or nuts, usually. These squirrels arejust amazing. You can walk right up to them. The result of so much feeding by hu- mans created a friendlier, notably plump squir- rel. Squirrels are a lot fatter here than anywhere else; they ' re obviously fed well. Sometimes they come closer than you expect but I haven ' t heard of anyone getting attacked yet, commented Beth Johnson, second-year graduate student in geol- ogy. Some students saw the squirrels as merely accustomed to the humans. Junior micro-biology major Jennie Barnard said, I don ' t think squir- rels here are necessarily friendlier. It ' s just that they are less afraid. Kind of like ' hey, whatever ' when you walk up to them. They ' re just used to all the people. Surprisingly, all the attention and feed- ing by students did not guarantee peaceful rela- tions between squirrels and students. Jasmine Zarzecki, office coordinator of West Quad claimed, Squirrels are mean! One day a squirrel attacked my office window while I was interviewing some- one. It was very distracting. Overall, squirrels were a force to be reckoned with, sometimes smiling, sometimes not. When sitting in the grass of the Diag, students knew to be on the lookout for playful scurrying about or danger from a branch overhead. by Jamie Weitzel Michigan Life 21