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

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Standing tall and full of pride, three engineer- ing graduates pose for a picture down on the field. Graduation was a time to re- flect upon the ac- complishments made over the previous four years, photo courtesy of VM Photo Services - | vfx r over the crowd in the Big House J Ui JL Cl IV7V7I on April 17, caused people to gasp in amazement. Thousands of students sat together united as a class for the first time. Together they sat and remembered the years they had given the University. Together they reflected on the crazy times, lazy times, sad times, and all the times in between. A gentle breeze graced the stadium and fluttered thousands of colorful tassels that hung off the caps and draped over the gowns of the graduating class of 2001. Together the 6,000 graduates became the largest graduating class in University history. They were freshman when the Wolver- ines won the Rose Bowl in 1 997, and national championships in Men ' s Soccer, and Ice Hockey. As new students to campus they were here when a lawsuit challenged the University ' s under- graduate admissions policy was filed in US District Court Oct 1 4, 1997. Over the next four years the issue developed into the largest Affirmative Action court case in the nation, encompass- ing both the undergraduate and graduate programs. Moreover when the new class of students came to the University so did a new president. Lee C. Bollinger was inaugurated on Sept. 19 1997. He walked onto this campus with the class of 2001 and when he stood before them on April 17th he gave his final commencement speech as President of the University. Together the graduates, and their president, left the University and headed on in the world in 2001 . To commemorate the four years, student speaker and Spanish concentrator, Michael Stromayer remembered the quintessen- tial undergraduate experience from dorm food to football Satur- days. We were part of the magic, the lyrics, the history, he announced to his fellow graduates. Following Stromayer, former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky gave his keynote address. Pinsky addressed the group as a new generation of adults. He expressed that in graduation, members of the class of 2001 became links in a chain of people that came before them. There is a legacy at the University, one of experience and one of knowledge and Pinsky entreated the graduates to continue the legacy saying, The most important thing we can do, is to pass it on. And so they did. The class of 2001 filed out of the Big House, spilled over campus in black gowns with an array of colored tassels and went into the world, no longer undergraduates. oiiij lth 14 I Graduation

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E BACK STUDENTS Our apartment was filthy and our landlords lied to us about tons of stuff, Brian Burstein, senior IOE major Headed into Mosher Jordan Residence Hall, a first-year student prepares for his first year on his own. For many first-year students, resident hall life gave them their first taste of freedom. photo by Krislen Stoner Before the trials and tribulations of classes, homework and exams even began, there was another obstacle for students returning to Ann Arbor for the school year: moving in. For incoming students moving into the residence halls, the transition could be chaotic. Although the University ' s housing Web site provided tips on what to bring and how to move, many first-year students still found the experience overwhelming. Everyone was everywhere; you never really knew what was going on, said Tim Holman, a first-year engineering student. There ' s only so much room in your dorm, so you can ' t have everything you want. You can ' t bring everything from your own room. During residence hall move-in, students and parents realized how exhausting future college moves would prove to be. It took a lot longer than I thought it would, said Emily Fox, an undeclared first-year student. Despite the lengthy move in, however, Fox still said the process was fairly smooth. For students living in houses and apartments, moving in carried even more responsibility. Not only did they have to take time to locate and choose a suitable place to live, but once they arrived, there were phone lines and utilities to set up and landlords to deal with. It took me forever, said Michelle Stocker, a junior geology major who moved into her first off-campus house in the fall. My parents were here until 1 :30 a.m. I didn ' t have any food to start off with, so I had to go to Meijer ' s, and that took a long time. I didn ' t really know what I was supposed to be bringing, because I didn ' t know what was left after everybody else had moved out. As a piccolo player in the marching band, Stocker had help from fellow band members while moving into her residence hall rooms during her first two years. This time, it was just us, she said. There wasn ' t anyone to do it with you, show you the ropes. Saad Siddiqui, a business administration junior, also moved into hisfirst apartment last fall. When you go in the dorms, everything ' s ready for you: your phone, your cable, your Internet connection, stuff like that, he said. All you have to do is try and fit in all your stuff. Moving into an apartment has a ton of other responsibilities. You have to set up everything from scratch. Sophomore history major Patrick Alach found that moving into hisfirst apartment waseasierthan residence hall life, especially since his housemates already had all the utilities set up. It wasn ' t a big rush, he explained. In the dorms, there ' s a couple hundred of people in there trying to get their stuff in at once. The house is pretty low-key, just a couple of guys, so it ' s a lot smoother. Whether students were first-years or seniors, on-campus or off-campus residents, moving in was one part of college life that was as unavoidable as final exams, huge lecture classes, term papers and moving out. p v Port-now Michigan Life | 13

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In a final farewell, Spanish major Michael Stromayer addresses his peers. Stromayer, an ROTC gradu- ate, was selected as a student speaker and used the opportunity to recount to his classmates the undergraduate experience they were about to leave behind: We were part of the magic, the lyrics, the history. . . photo courtesy of UM Photo Services Exploding with excitement, graduates unite in celebration of their achievement. After four years of hard work and memories, friends said goodbye to one an- other and began life on their own. photo courtesy of UM Photo Services Graduates make their final University stand Commencement By Sarah Johnson Michigan Life | 15