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

Page 30 text:

REAL ANN ARBOR As they decide on their order, first year Musical theater students, Nick Blaemire, Jason McClees and Brian Mazzaferri show the cashier their student ID ' S. Quality 16 Theater on Jackson Rd. gave discounts to students, successfully drawing in a larger college crowd than area com- petitors. T. Aluromusuru photo

Page 29 text:

In friendly competition, members of Delta Sigma R business fratemrty spend time together at Colonial Lanes, The blacklighting during cosmic bowling added a new dimen- sion to the alley environment. Bowling was a great altematwe to the bar. T. Akinimusuru photo s ' decision to attend iversity was centered around the fact that as located in -the middle of the thriving city i Arbor. However, campus Ann Arbor and city Ann Arbor seemed worlds apart. With Main Street just a few blocks away boasting exotic restaurants and unique shopping, it seemed that nothing more was needed . . . iwou had time to go. Commented senior electrical engineering major Katie Johnson, It ' sJ lP bad that most of the students never even make it out to Main Street. By J6nnJ6 It is such a nice part of town.. .but I guess we ' re all really busy. Indeed, a curriculum of late study nights and social activities made it hard for students to find time even to go grocery shopping during the year if they lived off campus, not that there was a grocery store to be found in the downtown area. Located near campus were small stores such as White Market, The People ' s Food Co-Op, and Village Corner, but these stores were notorious for smaller selections and higher prices. The fact remained that if grocery shopping was to be done, one would have to look outside downtown, and that meant either getting in a car, or for the thousands of students that didn ' t have a car, taking the bus. When I was a freshman, began junior graphic design major Rachel Dominguez- Benner, we thought we were brave enough to explore the city outside of campus. So there we were, sitting on the AATA bus, but nothing really looked too familiar. We chalked it up to the fact that we were freshman and didn ' t know the town too well yet. We finally realized our mistake when we ended up at the Vu in Ypsilanti. Off-campus activities were not restricted to grocery shopping. As junior industrial operations engineering-film major Sara Grady remarked, Not having a car is hell. You don ' t even know how much Ann Arbor has to offer until you can get more than a mile away from the Diag. Although downtown Ann Arbor offered a plethora of culture and activities, some students yearned for activities such as bowling, going to the movies, excursions to apple orchards in the fall, or something as simple as going to the mall. A drive up Stadium Blvd. off-campus could take a student to the Village Theater, where movies were only two dollars, the thrift store, K-mart, Schlotsky ' s Deli, and Fazoli ' s. A drive down Packard could take him or her to Anthony ' s Gourmet Pizza and Fantasy Attic Costumes. Students drove down AnnArbor Saline to find Meijer ' s, often the spot of late night shopping, as it was open 24 hours arid had pretty much anything they needed to buy. And if students were adventurous enough, a drive to Ypsilanti on Ellsworth all the way past Carpenter road could find them at the nearest 7-11. But, as with anything, ' real ' Ann Arbor had its downfalls as well. Living in a college (continued on page 27) MICHIGAN LIFE 25

Page 31 text:

Yes, back to the promised land Take me to the porch! (continued from page 29) town surrounded by students sometimes made a person forget that outside of campus people were not drunk at all hours of the day, and did not stay up until three in the morning on a weeknight. Although college life always seemed to possess a looming deadline or late night cram sessions, it also held a sense of experimentation and a carefree attitude that never made it past the borders of campus. Junior Jean Tomaro reminisced, This one day over the summer two of my friends and I were trying really hard to get drunk at three in the afternoon at Cafe Felix on Main. We were sitting at one of the outside tables laughing and talking and I finish a story and my friend Eric remarked with a very loud swear word right as a mom and her three year old kid are walking by. The kid just looks at Eric and bursts into tears. The lady looks in horror at the three of us and our table littered with empty martini glasses, shining in the afternoon sun, and shouts, ' Don ' t corrupt my son with your foul language! And drinking is irresponsible! ' I turn to Eric and say, ' See, I told you we shouldn ' t have ventured into real people territory. You know mid-afternoon drinking is highly frowned upon anywhere this side of State Street. Why ' d we even get off our porch? Let ' s go back, so we can drink without judgement and fear of corrupting small innocent children. ' Eric nods slowly and says, ' Yes, back to the promised land. Take me to the porch! ' The campus of the University was just a part of Ann Arbor, but undoubtedly an important one. The immense student population helped shape the city into something diverse, and despite difficulties getting around, a place that both permanent residents and students could call home. Catering to students ' every need, Metier superstore stays open 24 nours One could find almost any necessity at the Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. location T. Altinimusuru photo Worth the onve, 7-11 on Ellsworth Rd. provides students with eight Slurpee flavors to choose from. Dedi- cated 7-11 fans had to make the trek to Ypsilanti because the City of Ann Arbor did not invite the company ' s commerce M. Christiansen photo MICHIGAN LIFE 2 7