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Ninety-nine years of editorialfreedom
Vol. IC, No. 127 Ann Arbor, Michigan - Wednesday, April 5, 1989 Copyright 1989, The Michigan Daily
Celebrants
hit the
streets
Eight arrested in celebratory
bedlam
BY KRISTINE LALONDE
And there was much rejoicing.
And vandalism. And destruction. And
injuries. And looting.
Right after Rumeal Robinson hit his
two crucial free throws and the last Seton
Hall shot missed the bucket, thousands of
Michigan basketball fans poured out of
bars, apartments, and dorms to hit South
University St. and celebrate the victory.
At first the celebrants were content with
chanting and singing the "Victors." But
soon the chanting and singing gave way to
pulling down stop signs, breaking win-
dows, and climbing on rooftops.
"It started out just as spirit, everyone
was chanting. Then after a while it got
pretty reckless," said LSA senior Bob
Swanson.
Eight people were taken into custody
during the night on charges ranging from
malicious destruction of property to felo-
nious assault. Many were injured by flying
bottles and rocks thrown by members of
the crowd. No official tally of the number
of injuries or the cost of damage has been
released.
One man crawled to the flashing light
above the intersection at S. University and
Church Sts. by crawling along the light's
wire. Many worried that the electric wires
would break under his weight and connect
with the rain-soaked streets.
"I saw one guy on his own crawl up the
telephone wire. They're live wires - that's
stupid," said LSA senior Peter Kornreich.
"It's one thing to enjoy and other to try to
kill yourself."
A Yellow Cab taxi was overturned, then
guarded by six police officers guarded who
feared that the crowd would set it on fire.
People broke into Jacobson's at the cor-
ner of Maynard and Liberty Sts. and stole
the mannequins from the windows.
A man who assisted in breaking the
window at Stucci's ice cream store went
inside and helped himself to some ice
cream.
The awning at China Gate restaurant
was torn down and a fire began at the loca-
tion. When the fire trucks arrived a group
from the crowd grabbed one of the hoses
and aimed it a group dancing on a roof. The
thought of a fire hose being turned on the
crowd caused momentary panic as thou-
sands began running away from the hose.
"There's not much you can do when
you're outnumbered 300 to 1," said Ann
Arbor Police Sgt. Mark Jones. He said the
city could do little to prevent the gathering,
such as closing down the streets. He said
25 to 30 police officers, including some
from the state police and sheriff's depart-
ment, were at the scene.
Eventually there seemed to be a backlash
to the destruction. Later in the night when
a bottle flew the window above Stucci's the
crowd began chanting "asshole" over and
over.
Social Psychology Prof. James Hilton
said there are many theories that could ex-
plain why people in a normally law-abiding
group would break the law or encourage
lawlessness.
"I don't know why it turned the way it
did," Hilton said. "Everybody would like to
raise a little hell, but you're in a social
prescription that won't let you." He said
these social prescriptions are often loosened
by crowd situations.
Fans give Wolverines a
rowdy 'Welcome Home'
BY STEVE BLONDER
The troops headed home from battle, and the
hometown crowd gave them a rousing ovation. Johnny
and the Saints might have well been marching in.
But yesterday it was a group of Wolverines, content
after devouring a large meal, who returned to their Ann
Arbor den with Michigan's first basketball
championship.
Well over 10,000 people waited in Crisler Arena for
almost an hour for their conquering heros to make a
grand entrance. And when the players' motorcade
reached Crisler, the band and fans were in the midst of
a rousing chorus of "The Victors."
"National Champion Michigan Wolverines has kind
of a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" University President
James Duderstadt asked the crowd. Duderstadt attended
his first two Wolverine basketball games of the season
this past weekend in Seattle.
The players were each introduced, and each
responded somewhat differently. Sean Higgins, who
scored Saturday's winning basket, wore a pair of dark
sunglasses, while Loy Vaught blew kisses to the
crowd.
Terry Mills waved his arm in the air, which
brought the few sitting spectators to their feet. The
crowd erupted at the introduction of Rumeal Robinson
before drowning out Glen Rice's name with an "MVP"
chant.
'If I had to choose to go to a
university once again, the Uni-
versity of Michigan would be my
choice.
- Glen Rice
The fans informed athletic director Bo Schembechler
that their choice for the head coaching vacancy is Steve
Fisher by yelling "Fiiisher" and holding "Fisher, 6 &
0" signs.
"We felt we could accomplish it, and Glen Rice
coined the phrase 'Michigan was a team on a mission,'
and we punched that last ticket last night in Seattle and
accomplished that mission," Fisher said. "I told the
players to look at the spot for the 1989 championship
banner because it was reserved for Michigan."
Schembechler praised the Wolverine tournament
success, while hecklers yelled at him to give Fisher
the job permanently.
"I've been around here a long time and this
championship by this basketball team will go down in
history as one of the great accomplishments in all of
Michigan athletics," Schembechler told the fans.
See Sports, Page 12
ROBIN LOZNAK/Daily
Sporting his Wayfarers, a triumphant Sean Higgins acknowledges the screaming masses. Higgins, with his
trademark flamboyance, ascended the stage before being announced.
New MSA representatives take of-
fice; Coalition to lead assembly
BY TARA GRUZEN
Newly-elected Michigan Student
Assembly President Aaron Williams
led the assembly for the first time
last night, after accepting the sym-
bolic gavel from outgoing President
Michael Phillips.
Although Williams, an engineer-
ing junior, began his presidential
Williams said.
He added that although the Uni-
versity administration has marked
the distribution of these racist flyers
as isolated incidents, they are never-
theless extremely offensive and must
be investigated.
"I do not always support what the
Daily has to say, but we do not
position, Vice President Rose
Karadsheh, an LSA sophomore, and
all other new MSA representatives
took their seats in on the assembly.
Half of the present MSA representa-
tives are newly elected and half were
elected last October.
Before the new assembly mem-
bers took office, the old assembly
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