4

age 4-B-Thursday, September 9, 1982-The Michigan Daily
Greeks triumph
in campus
social arena

.r ; .

Stalking the elusive
college experience


4

Fraternities and sororities, after ex-
periencing a decline in popularity in the
'60s and early '70s, rapidly are retur-
ning to their former status as major
centers of campus social activity for
thousands of University un-
dergraduates.
Ten years ago, joining a fraternity or
sorority was frowned upon by many as
overly "conformist." But. today, most
houses are full, as the Greek-life image
has swung back toward the positive.
RANDY THARP, a member of Alpha
Tau Omega, said that he expects the
renewed popularity to continue. With so
many students interested, and a limited
amount of space in the houses, some of
the fraternities and sororities will
become more selective, he said.
Approximately 15 percent of the un-
dergraduate student body are active
members of the more than 50 frater-
nities and sororities on campus.
For the student, fraternities and
sororities can provide both a welcome
diversion from the rigors of academic
life and a reasonably priced housing
alternative (membership fees and

room and board costs vary, but they are
comparable to dormitory rates).
UNLIKE DORMS and apartment
houses, the Greek system offers a close-
knit, tightly structured fellowship. On-
ce you have joined a house, you will live
and work closely with other members
and will help put together the shape
your group will take in the future.
"Everyone's for a common goal,"
said Scott Almquist, a member of Phi
Gamma Delta.
"That's the name of the game here,
working together," echoed George
Reindal, also a Phi Gamma Delta
member.
Since membership in fraternities and
sororities is by invitation only, an in-
tegral part of becoming a member
takes place at the beginning of each
term with "rush." During this time,
students visit different houses to
become acquainted with the members
and observe the characteristics of each
chapter.
If a student is invited to join the chap-
ter and decides to accept the invitation,
he or she then goes through the Greek
system's orientation period, known as
pledging; before being initiated.

By BEN TICHO
Stalking the college experience. It's
the bigtime now-the beautiful, won-
derful, magical, mythical world of
college. This is what you've worked for,
heard about, read about, dreamed
about, and inexorably been pushed
toward for the past 18 years.
All freshpersons arrive with certain
expectations of their university years,
varying with the amount and quality of
hype preceding matriculation. I had my
own expectations-expectations which
I soon found would have to be altered or
else disappointed in some fashion. Or I
found them to be lacking in some fun-
dumental way.
I HAD SEEN The Paper Chase and
Animal House, read Kerouac and Von-
negut, listened to the Beatles, Stones,
Doors, and the rest of them for years,
spent a summer in Colorado, benefitted
from older brothers' tales of the wild
times ahead, and watched countless TV
sitcoms. I had well-defined oc-
cupational goals (and thus academic
guidelines), a steady, well-rounded
high school background, and my own
Frisbee.
In short, I had what I considered
more than adequate preparation for
anything Ann Arbor could throw at me.
I was ready to meet the challenges, do
,the unexpected, make friends, eat dorm
food, and have a genuinely good time
while I was here.

That's a pretty over-simplified aid
naive description, perhaps, but it did
come as something of a surprise to find
that things don't work out quite so sim-
ply.

ONE OF the first things any fresh-
person learns at the University is that.
despite all the talk about "independen-
ce" and "personal responsibility,"
you're by no means just given complete
control over your life. There are
thousands of rules, requirements, ,
limitations, prerequisites, and biases to
guide and direct you, in everything
from academics to social life, dorm life,
athletics, economics, and most
anything else you do.
After a while, you get used to this new
lifestyle. You learn (sometimes the.
hard way) which classes you can afford
to cut and which you have to attend,
where to buy the best pizza for the
cheapest price, when to go play video
games and when to hit the books, which
people on the hall play the best music
and which are the best to talk with at 4
a.m.-all the little things which con-
stitute a significant part of the college
experience.
What exactly is the "college ex-
perience" and how does one go about
stalking this elusive quarry? Naturally,
it depends on who you are, what you're
interested in, how hard you're willing
to work to fulfill all those cherished (if
See STALKING, Page 16

TIlE PHI DELTA THETA house, at the corner of Washtenaw and South
University, is one of 30 fraternities on campus. The entire Greek system is
thriving in the '80s, after a decline in popularity a decade ago.

From liquor to traffic violations, SLS helps

By KENT REDDING
At some point in their college
careers, many students confront some
sort of legal problem, whether the case
involves a glove compartment full of
traffic tickets or a landlord who refuses
to fix the heat.
For those not well-versed in legal
matters, the experience could be an ex-
pensive, harrowing nightmare-but it
doesn't have to be. The University's
Student Legal Services provides free
BR: uw-o .4: 2:+:

legal counsel to all students.
NEARLY 3,000 students use the office
yearly, according to Legal Services
lawyer Stanley Pollack. "Landlord-
tenant, divorce, and criminal cases,
those are the most common areas we
deal with," he said.
Pollack and four other attorneys
make up the staff of SLS. Their
salaries, as well as the rest of the costs
of the service, are paid for by the $2.90
taken from each student's mandatory
MSA student government assessment
of $4.25 each term. University law
students and undergraduates volunteer
their services to augment the staff and
learn how a law office operates, said
Pollack.
Many cases involve only counseling
of clients, as was the case with
engineering senior Al Parisi. At the end
of one term, he said his roommate
moved out of their two bedroom apar-
tment leaving Parisi to pay for the
apartment by himself. Parisi went to
SLS where attorneys advised him to sue
in small claims court.
"I didn't know anything about small
claims until I went to Legal Services,"
Parisi said. "They showed me how'to be
SHORT OR LONG
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my own lawyer."
IN MANY instances, students can
handle their own cases. Consequently,
the office has devised "kits" which in-
struct the student how to construct a
case and file all the necessary paper-
work with the court in such cases as
divorce and small claims. Parisi said
his kit was "rather simple, with a little
help."'
The kits help both to educate students
on legal matters, and reduce the case
load of the busy office, according to
Barbara. Kessler, another SLS attor-
ney.
In other situations, SLS actually
represents students in- court. Last
summer, Ann Arbor police sent Ex-
plorer Scouts into several local bars to
check enforcement of the state's 21-
years-old drinking law.
AS A RESULT of that operation,
nearly a dozen University students
were arrested and charged with selling
alcohol to minors "without diligent
inquiry."
Many of the students were represen-
ted by SLS and all were either acquitted
by a jury or given lesser charges. The
police were unsuccessful because the
decoys looked considerably older than
they were, said Pollack.
To facilitate easier access to the of-
fice, Student Legal Services has "walk-
in" hours starting at 2 p.m. Mondays
and Thursdays. Students seeking legal
counsel can sign up for a walk-in ap-
pointment at noon on those days.
THE SERVICE, located in the
Michigan Union, began after a student

referendum in 1978 mandated free legal
service for all students. "This is a
general practice law office," said
Kessler. "It's a real bargain."
Many students have complained
about the cases that SLS is not allowed
to handle. Although the service is a
semi-independent organization with its
own board of directors (comprised of
five students, one faculty member, and
one administrator), SLS is subject to
Regental guidelines.
SLS may not handle litigation against
the University. This restriction is the
most controversial but University ad-
ministrators say that it is inappropriate
to use University money to represent
sides in a lawsuit.
STILL, MANY students have argued
that students now have to pay twice for
legal counsel if they have a dispute with
the University.
- Student Legal Services also cannot
take on fee-generating cases or cases
involving one University student again-
st another. The office will not give any
legal advice over the phone because of
liability problems.
According to both* Kessler and
Pollack, SLS would like to do more in-
formational programs. "I think one
thing we can do is prevent legal
problems ifnpeople know their rights in
advance," Kessler said.
Pollack agrees and each Wednesday
at 6 p.m. he hosts the "Radio Free
Lawyer" program on WCBN, the cam-
pus radio station, in which he talks,
about legal problems and accepts
phone-in questions.


MSA

S
A%

fCHIGAN
UDENT
SSEMBLY

3909 Michigan Union- Phone 763-3242
The Michigan Student Assembly, YOUR
Student Government at the University
of Michigan, consists of representatives
elected by the student body each year
in April. MSA strives to work for you
and with you on issues of concern to
student life and needs your input to
effectively represent your concerns.


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