Thursday, September 4, 1980-Sec. E-10 Pages
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here is a place on campus-a small piece of ground at the corner of
Ingalls and Washington, that seems unusually special. For it is on
this particular corner that at any given moment, on any given eve-
ning, you can be literally surrounded by the arts.
You can lean against the Lydia Mendelssohn Theater sign on the
lawn of the Michigan League, and feel the artists around you: To the east
in the Power Center, you can picture the actors onstage in the midst of a
dramatic scene; to the north, across Washington St., you can hear an
Italian string quartet performing in the Rackham Auditorium. Inside the
Modern Language Building to the west, sequences of "Annie Hall" and
"Rebel Without a Cause" flicker in Auditoriums .3 and 4. To the south,
the University Philharmonia can be heard resounding in Hill Auditorium,
and across the lawn, inside the Mendelssohn Theater, the Glee Club
finishes an emotional chorus of "The Yellow and Blue."
Among the ongoing diversions that can fill a student's non-study time
(and some study time), cultural activities at the University beckon loudly.
Without gushing, Ann Arbor simply has among the Midwest's most hectic
schedules of concerts, plays, lectures, films, and art gallery
exhibitions-all eager to fill the leisure time left after the books are closed.
Combined with University sports, and traditional collegiate social com-
mitments, the student learns quickly how valuable his or her time can be. It
is not rare for a bleary-eyed student to groan to his professor, "I had to see
Gerald Ford on Monday night, the hockey play-offs Tuesday night, Chuck
Mangione Wednesday night and Richard III last night." And it is equally
common for the professor to reply, "Tough luck."
In this section, we will bring you up to date on the various campus
organizations that regularly bring you these cultural activities, and inform
you on how to get involved in various aspects of the arts. Other cultural
highlights, such as local art galleries, museums, and the city of Detroit, will
be reviewed as well. An overall understanding of Ann Arbor's cultural
diversity is necessary for incoming students, so they can maximize their
ever-brief stays here. This understanding should be accompanied by
caution, however: There are classes out there, too.