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

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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

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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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A 2 Summer Ho iday ltwas1:30onaTuesday afternoon and Dominick ' s was packed with students. Across the street people played frisbee in the Law Quad, while girls worked on their suntans with statistics and biology books in front of them. These activities were common place in Ann Arbor during the summer. Many students were pleas- antly surprised by how relaxed the atmosphere be- came once the stress of classes was lessened. Living in Ann Arbor in the summer is definitely worth it. Al- though it ' s a different atmosphere, it is more low-key than the other terms. It ' s definitely worth the freedom of living on your own, especially if you have close friends who stay here also, said Kristen Ritter, a junior commu- nications major. With less on their plates, new-found Ann Arbor resi- dents found that impromptu parties became common place. Simple barbecues and grilling sessions quickly turned into porch parties and small house parties. The pace slows down, my heart beat did as well, people are out and about, chillin ' and taking time to hang out with one another. I ' d say that investing into friendships by spending time with other people was the highlight of the summer for me, commented senior organizational studies major Scott Wyatt. Ann Arbor did not offer as relaxing of a summer for everyone who chose to stay in town, however. Some students who worked as interns in the suburbs of Detroit and chose to commute from Ann Arbor were thrown into the real world a bit sooner than they expected. For those, the standard day included early morning commutes on clogged highways and 1 p.m. bedtimes. Commuting takes away two to two-and-a-half hours of your day every day, said industrial and opera- tional engineering senior Bryan Maloney. Those few hours mean you have to get up earlier, go to bed earlier and don ' t have as much time for things like partying. Summers in Ann Arbor left students with an overall good impression. Sopho- more Ruby Hiramanek summed up her experience: This spring term could quite possibly be the most fun I ' ll have at U of M. There ' s nothing like renting your own house, having a little party on a warm summer night, having a little get-together turn into a herd of randoms, having strangers pool for another keg, and ultimately having the concerned Ann Arbor police stopping by to chat with probably your drunkest housemate while 400 students run wild and consequently get MIP ' s and DUI ' s. You wake up the next morning and the kitchen chair is broken in the front lawn, the ' For Rent ' sign is ganked from your neighbor ' s lawn, and the ceiling has fallen in in your ant-infested but cozy home. It ' s a great time. Oh yeah the classes are good too, I guess. By Jayme Love 16 I Summer in Ann Arbor