The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 8, 1988- Page 5

Rosa Armstrong greets three-year-old son Shawn at the city bus stop after her check-up at University Hospital.
CITY VIEWS
A ome Ann Arbor city councilmemers want this and other
teenage skateboarders kept off downtown streets.
F a c geAAbriU.cmmswnhsawh
Your only contact with them may be when they ask you for -
some spare change, or when they zoom by you on their skate-
boards, or when you venture into their stores.
They are the people of Ann Arbor, the ones whose addresses 0.
don't change when the semesters do, the ones who call Ann Ar-
bor home. You cannot avoid them, and you shouldn't ignore
them. There is as much to learn from the ordinary people of
Ann Arbor as from the University's scholars.
WALK TO the corner of William and Maynard Streets at
dusk. You will meet the so-called "punks," the local high
school students who dress in leather and dread the Septembers
that bring the college students back to their town. They say:
"We don't like the college kids. They think they own the town
because their parents pay all that tuition." These locals just
want to do their own thing, have fun. They don't dislike all
University students - just the ones who come to Ann Arbor
with their noses in the air.
Walk to Main Street and the downtown area. You will findy-
people whose lives don't revolve around the University. They
have nine-to-five jobs and enjoy coming home to their families.
Walk to Liberty Plaza on a sunny afternoon. Go with an v
open mind and an ear for listening. The local homeless people
often congregate there, and all too often spend the night on one
of the benches. They have stories that you won't believe, and a\.
some that you shouldn't believe. They will ask you for some -.
money for a bus ride, but will probably spend it on alcohol.
But they welcome everyone. And if you take the time to get to
know them, you may find you've made a friend.
WALK ALL over town and visit the "mom and pop"
operations - which unfortunately are becoming harder and
harder to find. Many of these small restaurants and shop owners
have been in Ann Arbor all their lives, or at least long enough
to get to know what students are like. They can tell you aboutu.
"the good old days," when Ann Arbor wasn't so crowded and
you could buy a Coke for a nickel.
Walk anywhere there is a smooth concrete surface, but keep
your eyes open and be prepared to make some quick moves. G
You may run into a pack of skateboarders, or, more accurately,
they may run into you. Later you may see them again - as
you sleepily stare at the Diag from your classroom window -
and wish you could be with them.
Someday, before the weather becomes too cold, walk beyond
the Frieze Building and East Quad and the Michigan Union.
Walk beyond the University - out into the city of Ann Arbor 6
- and learn what no class can teach you.
Ann Arbor, long a haven for the nonconformist, sports a flourishing punk subculture; the earrings, leather, and surly expressions
PHOTOSTORY BY SCOTT LITUCHY of these high school students are common local sights
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