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

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The Rock on the cor- ner of Hill Street and Wash ten aw Avenue is a well known place tor campus graffiti. Sornriu and fra- temity pledges painted the Rock, andstudents quipped that underneath ali the lay- paint, the Rock was probabiv no move than a pebble. Athletes ' signatures adorn the wail of Mai Blue Deli on South Univer- graffiti by Jamie weitzel [ ' nivtrsitv hi nefactors like Preston Robert Tisch, whose name graced Tisch Hall and the Tisch Tennis Building, donated significant amounts of money to have their name permanently fixed to the campus. Students however, found a more economical way to immortalize themselves. Whether it was due to having a magic marker at a convenient time or a paint brush and some Greek letters, the art known as graffiti provided students a creative way to make their mark on the University. Greek and other organizations tradition- ally painted the rock to celebrate their par- ticular group. The colorful boulder located at the corner of Hill and Washtenaw changed shades and themes nightly, as decorating the rock usually occurred in the dark. I ' ll never forget painting the rock with my sorority, re- marked Melissa Fette, junior organizational studies major. It was a bonding experience and it was great to see our letters on display the next day. So many people drive by and notice the rock. A less public display of student creativity was found in the ground floor Mason Hall women ' s restroom. Scrawled on the walls of what the night janitors referred to as stalls five and six, were heated debates on such issues as sexual orientation, sororities, women ' s health, and violence against women. One graffitist wrote, If he hits you, leave him. I know from experience. The written conversations on these walls were, at times, intense and scathing. Many other forms of graffiti abounded throughout the University. Athletes had the opportunity to inscribe their names inside Touchdov. n Cafe and Maize-n-Blue Deli. A popular way to get word out about different activities on campus was to chalk the sidewalks and as a result it was rare to walk to class without stepping on four or five pink and blue announce- ments. Students were IT t shy about expressing their thoughts through the written word and though not always regarded as the cleanliest or most legal method of approaching this goal, graffiti served to convey the students ' message. Adriana Vugovich Adriana Yugovich Campus Graffiti 27

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MM m 26 Michigan Life

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Tr le ge nrts Walking across the Diag on the way to class students had forewarning not to step on the ' M ' . Incoming students waded through the Thomas M. Cooley Fountain, Sunday Morning in Deep Water, during Orientation initiating their entrance to the University. Stu- dents streaked across campus during the Naked Mile. Whether students had or had not actually participated in any of these rituals, chances were good they had at least heard of them. From the superstition that kissing somebody under the West Engineering Arch foretold marriage, to the President of the University beginning classes every morning by spin- ning the Cube in Regents Square, the University had plenty of famed traditions. Nearly every student in Ann Arbor seemed to have his or her own opinion as to which tradition was the most meaningful. Andy Milius, SNRE junior said, The biggest tradition has to be the Naked Mile. Where else can you get naked and run? The Naked Mile had been a long-standing ritual for students at the University. On the last night of winter semester classes, students from all over campus formed a line and ran naked down South University and across the Diag. These nude marathoners also attracted sums of interested viewers and sideline catcalls. Adriana Yugovich I he Cube in Regent ' s Square is said to be the wind up key of the University. Tradition said that every morning the President started the University by spinning the Cube. by jeany dohm Shara Kruse, a sophomore kinesiology major, reported, I think the best tradition i the rule about the ' M ' in the Diag. Almost every freshman know obeys that rule. It ' s probably the most respected plac on campus. The ' M ' had a reputation of being a bad omenj rumor had it that first-year students who stepped on it would fail their first blue book exam. Therefore, some first-year student avoided this center of campus altogether. I like the meaning of walking through the fountaii your freshman and senior years, first-year psychology majo Kristina Dunigan remarked. Dunigan herself waded througrl the waters before beginning classes at the University. It ' i symbolic of eventually crossing over to graduate school. Un dergraduate students in their last year walk back through thi fountain in the opposite direction, pointing themselves towarc U-M ' s Graduate School and away from the undergraduati library. Jackie Townsend, a junior majoring in environmenta studies, thought of a different Michigan tradition. Waiting in really long lines to buj I books is definitely the most important, she commented. After all, we couldn ' t go tc class without them. U n the corner of Packard and Greenwood stands several crossing telephone wires where it is traditional for graduating seniors to throwapair of shoes. Nearer to graduation, the wires became covered in pairs of hangingshoes of all kinds, leav- ingtracesofgraduatingseniors behind. Seder Burns | he West Engineering Arch is the basis for another Uni- versity legend of love. If two students who were in love kissed under this archway at night, it was said that they would some day be married. Countless University couples tried out this super- stition. 28 Michigan Life Adrians Yugovich