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

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Modeled alter Cambridge, Michigan ' s Law Quad is known for its gothic style. U-M ' s academic standards sometimes require students to study at every opportuni Friends relax along the Huron River. The Michigan League (opposite right) construct- ed in 1929, provides a suitable atmosphere for so- cializing. 4 Attitudes on Campus

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E N T ulti-faceted. Along with its academic reputation, the Uni- versity of Michigan offers students a wide variety of diver sions. With over 600 clubs and organizations, the excitement of Big Ten football, and a large, multi-faceted student body, U-M has become one of the leading educational institutions in the nation. Michigan emits a distinctive midwestern aura, and the 1985 Michigan Ensian captures its evolving image. Annette M. Fernholz Editor-in-Chief William R. Marsh Managing Editor Kristine Golubovskis Campus Life Editor Bill Marsh Retrospect Editor Laura Martin, Dave Gent Sports Editors Tracey Grzegorczyk Academics Editor Susan Michael Entertainment Editor Anne Thiede Greeks Editor Wendy Gould Organizations Editor Annette Fernholz, Kristine Golubovskis Senior Editors Jeff Forman Finance Manager James Dostie, Cynthia Cassell Photography Editors Campus Life Retrospect Sports Academics Entertainment Greeks Organizations Seniors Index S | Stoney Burke, notorious Diag personality, enter- tains a local crowd. Contents

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Campus Reflects Changing Attitudes Time has evidenced many changes on the University of Michigan campus. Not only are there structural changes like the expansion of the business school, but the students themselves are different now. There seems to be a different attitude among today ' s college students. Some have dismissed it as political apathy, oth- ers call it self-centeredness. Regardless of its name, it has left a noticeable impact on Ann Arbor. Today ' s student is a different type of student. I think students of today can be characterized as having a more personal interest in their own well-being and per- sonal prosperity, said Vice-President for Student Services Henry Johnson. Basically, I would describe the mood on campus as calm, generally speaking. There ' s not the consistency, unlike the ' 60 ' s, of collective protest or collective en- ergy targeted on a specific cause. There tends to be sporadic, at best, and extreme- ly small numbers of students involved in protest. The code is an example; the nucle- ar free zone proposal in Ann Arbor is an- tier. There has been nothing in the last five to six years that has galvanized a signifi- cant percentage of the student body around a cause, the vice-president stated. Surely University students are not lack- ing ideas or opinions, yet only a handful openly protest the code. A few more de- bate U.S. involvement in Central Amer- ica, but the majority of students abstain from these political activities. MSA President Scott Page commented, I think they don ' t get involved because they ' re concerned about their grades. It ' s easier to drink beer. It ' s easier not to care about something. One professor confided that students seem much more concerned about their own career paths. In terms of campus life, in some ways, they seem like throw- backs to the late ' 50 ' s and ' 60 ' s. There ' s a revival of campus activities like sororities and fraternities, but they ' re much less in- terested in politics now. But Donald Brown, psychology profes- sor, cautions against stereotyping today ' s college students. The mass of students then and now are probably not a lot differ- ent, he said. Most of the 1960 ' s activists were involved in protest because of self- interest: They did not want to find them- selves fighting a war in Southeast Asia. Brown also suggested that a minority of the public actually was represented by the political activists. Since they received an enormous amount of attention from the media, their impact may have been over- rated, he concluded. Some students easily dismiss the stan- dards of the 1960 ' s, like Bill Smith, a gra- duate student majoring in English. Rather than being involved in idealis- tic, fadish political goals, students are in- volved in different things now. While MSA and LS A Student Gov- ernments may be losing volunteers, many new organizations continue to surface on campus. Sigma Kappa sorority was newly formed this fall. In addition, many more women rushed this year than in 1983. For the most part, activism hasn ' t died on the U-M campus, it just has been re- channeled in new and different outlets. -Annette Fernholz X- : . X ; , ' Kristin Golubovskis Attitudes on Campus 5