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

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Moving to the beat, a student gets ready to bust a move on the dance floor at Touchdown Cafe. Bars were popular because of their music and dancing options, photo by Ah Melber Bottle of Rolling Rock in hand, senior English major Gena Hamadey checks out the bar scene. Some students had an affinity for the green glass bottles of Rolling Rock. photo by Ah Melber Laughing together at the bar, ISA senior Rabeh Soofi and her friends toast each other. The bar scene was very social, photo by Ari Melber Michigan Life 27

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CAMPUS For most first-year and sopho- more students, tracking down alchohol for weekend party- ing was a challenge. The scar- city of twenty-one-year-olds in the residence halls often complicated the matter. How- BY ever, once students reached BONNIE GOLD the golden age of twenty-one, alcohol became surprisingly and seductively accessible. Out of all nights out at the bar, 21st birthdays usually stood out as the most excit- ing. While some took it easy and tossed a few free drinks back with their friends, others took drinking to a dangerous extreme. On his 21st birth- day, my friend Kevin had 23 shots in four hours, all while sharing pitchers with our group, said economics se- nior Mike Schmick. After recovering from their rite of passage, drinking be- came an everyday occurrence for many students. With the campus bars offering numer- ous specials, seniors were of- ten too tempted to concen- trate on homework. Tuesday nights at Mitch ' s and Thurs- day nights at Scorekeepers became weekly traditions, the staple of every senior ' s social life. Even those who did not frequent the bars spent many of their weeknights drinking with their friends at home, quickly making their way through cases of Labatt ' s. Once the weekends rolled around, however, many up- perclassmen gathered around the kegs at house parties. Not only did this give students a chance to catch up with old friends, but it was also much cheaper than spending time at the bars. Though nights of drinking often blended into one an- other, every student had a few hilarious moments that will never fade from their memory. A senior who pre- ferred to remain anonymous said, Onedrunken night, one of my friends was making me laugh so hard that I just had to get away. The only thing was that I was too drunk to walk away, so I had to crawl. As I neared the staircase in our apartment, he thought that I was falling, so he grabbed the ankle of my pants to stop me. Although he was really trying to help me, he ended up pull- ing down my sweatpants and my boxers. He let go in shock, but that just sent me flying down the stairs, completely bare-assed. Although most students ' drunken memories were not quite as wild as this, the University ' s upperclassmen spent many of their most memorable nights partying, alcohol in hand. 26 The Bar Scene Spinning amidst customers, a waitress at Touchdown Cafe brings drinks. Students who worked at bars had to be prepared to work weekends, photo by Ah Melber

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An issue of Maxim strewn on the coffee table, juniors EECs major Brian Rickert and Jack Stepanian relax together. Thursday nights seemed to be more about intimate gather- ings than full-out parties, more so than other nights of the week. photo by Abby Johnson 28 Thursday Nights