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Montana's Big
Checkout Line
Students at the University
of Montana are fighting
budget cutbacks by the
state legislature in a highly vis-
ible way. In order to make
merchants-and legislators-
aware of the school's financial
impact, the student govern-
ment has distributed 250,000
small white stickers that read,
"I am a student of the Univer-


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.Dot LARS

Playing Fair
With Freshmen
For most freshmen, orien-
tation means confusion: a
confrontation with com-
plex registration forms and a
strange campus. But the Uni-
versity of Miami tries to make
orientation more like, well, a
day at the beach. Or seven days.
In early September 2,000 UM
freshmen were acclimatized to
college life through a week of
barbecues, pizza parties and
games. "We're trying to build
a sense of community among
the total freshman class,"
says Dan Maxwell of the stu-
dent-services office. UM fig-
ures one way to do that is by
building human pyramids,
and they're featured at Play-
fair, the highlight of orienta-
tion week. A blend of summer
camp and pep rally, Playfair
gives new students the opportu-
nity to meet in relaxed set-
tings. The volunteers who serve
as orientation assistants lead

small groups of freshmen in
various icebreakers. Playfair
is popular with OA's, too, and
guess why? Says one male:
"It's a great way to meet girls."
PATRICK MCCREERY in Miami
Rock's Role in
Raleigh, N.C.
North Carolina State has
fit a very large "rock" into
a very hard place. Loom-
ing over the gymnastics pit in
Carmichael Gymnasium is an
80-foot by 25-foot structure
built last spring to serve as a
learning lab for students tak-
ing rock-climbing for phys-ed
credit. (Students can test their
skills on the real thing during
field trips to nearby Hanging
Rock.) Constructed from a
steel frame sprayed with con-
crete and painted brown and
gray to create an authentic
craggy look, the $75,000 con-
traption lets student climbers
polish their skills on sections

BERNARD GOTFRYD-NEWSWEEK
Stuck On U.: A reminder for
merchants and legislators
sity of Montana." Students are
supposed to attach one to
every check they write. (Fac-
ulty have similar stickers.)
"Businesses are recognizing
the importance of the universi-
ty," says Paul Shiveley, for-
mer director of Student Legis-
lative Action, who
estimates that students
make up 20 percent of
the customers in Missou-
la. Shiveley says the
sticker campaign demon-
strated student finan-
cial clout so successfully
to local merchants that
they lobbied legislators
about reductions in
education aid. During
the last legislative ses-
sion, about two-thirds of S
the proposed cuts were
eventually eliminated.
"The business commu-
nity has been supportive
this year," says Matt
Theil, a 23-year-old lob-
byist for the students.
"Now [businesses] are
asking that higher edu-
cation be fully funded."
20 NEWSWEEKONCAMPUS

of ascending difficulty. Stu-
dents have conquered Scar-
face, Manure Pile, No Exit and
Shark Fin, but so far no one
has mastered the wicked over-
hang called Baby Butt.
Given the inexperience of
most of the classroom climbers,
instructors place a
heavy emphasis on safe-
ty; students are con-
nected to ropes so that if
they slip, they will fall
only a couple of feet. Stu-
dents seem more confi-
dent facing the great out-
doors indoors. "If you
don't make it [to the top],
you know you're com-
ing back next Wednes-
day," said climber Greg
Parrot. Though there
have been no serious in-
juries so far, the class
does demand certain
sacrifices, as Mia Canes-
trari found out after her
first day: "I should get an
A for having to cut off
' my nails."
JIM ZOOKinRaleigh, N.C.

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ILLUSTRATION BY TIM GRAJEK

SEPTEMBER 1987