Page 10-The Michigan Daily/New Student Edition - Thursday, September 6, 1990 An old staffer remembers... Working for the Daily is worth the headaches by Steve Knopper Daily Alum For potential Michigan Daily writers, the first step into the Stu- dent Publications Building is the second hardest one. After you climb the graying stone staircase and grasp the ping- pong sized knobs at the corner of the bannister, you find yourself at the head huge, oblong, arched room strewn with students running amok. Telephones ring. Associated Press wire machines buzz. Macin- tosh computers utter bizarre techno- sounds effects. Fingers click com- puter keyboards. Fans whir over- head. Voices chatter everywhere. Edi- tors argue about content. Reporters politely throw out questions to sources on the phone. Two political i science majors try to resolve the Middle East conflict before the dead- line. Somebody sings Van Morri- son's "Moondance" off in the dis- tance. Suddenly, you wish you were somewhere else. At some other newspaper office, on some other campus, maybe. This chaotic room hcan't possibly house a newspaper. SBut you against your better judgement, you take a few more steps into the room, toward someone on the telephone behind a desk at the other end. You innocently try to catch their eye,'but they seem obliv- IOus. A few people rush by, throwing out polite smiles, which only make you feel embarrassed because you seem to be the only person who L doesn't know what's going on. k then that person, still cradling the phone on their shoulder, looks up and asks you if you want to write. "Well, I was thinking, if it isn't too much time..." As soon as they look you in the eye, size you up, and grin, you get a strange feeling. Though you can't possibly know it yet, something in- side begins to think you've stumbled into a trap. The Michigan Daily has swal- lowed you whole. For the next few weeks, months, and even years you will be a Daily staffer. You may work 30 hours weekly, covering protests, meetings, and fires, or wander in a few times every month to review movies or- records. You may spend all you time at the library researching George Bush so you're prepared to take a stand at the twice-weekly editorial board de- bates that determine the newspaper's opinion. You may traipse the cam- pus looking for the perfect feature photograph, or end up squatting at Crisler Arena trying to snap Sean Higgins at the tail end of a dunk. Or you may end up talking with him after the game. You may come up with new con- tacts - football coach Gary Moeller, University President James Duderstadt, and even the people who read your applications and determine whether you get any financial aid. Soon, the Daily people - who seemed in such disarray when you first came in - have names to go with the faces. They're from all over - Detroit, Ames, Chicago, Port- land, Denver. The building, too, comes to life. You learn about recent history, like the time a former editor-in-chief once traversed the entire 100 yard-long newsroom without touching the floor, or about the Daily's team for any sport, the Libels. You learn about famous Daily achievements - like revealing the names of the last two University Presidents before they were an- nounced by the University, and breaking the news about basketball coach Bill Frieder's resignation be- fore any paper in the country. You also hear about infamous Daily bloopers - like the time the front pages sported a picture of the space shuttle Challenger blowing up side- ways. In the library, you pore through the bound volumes of newspapers dating back to the turn of the cen- tury. You can look up your birth- date, D-Day, the Vietnam War, or the days John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., were mur- derxe. You read about Tom Hayden, the former editor, whose experiences at the Daily inspired him to help form the Students for a Democratic Soci- ety (SDS) in the 1960s. Or Arthur Miller, who graduated from the Daily to write Death of a Salesman, or Chicago Tribune writer Ann Marie Lipinski, the most recent Daily alum to win a Pulitzer Prize. Or any of the recent graduates who now work for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Sports Illus- trated, San Francisco Examiner, Philadelphia Inquirer, Indianapolis Star, Detroit Free Press, and hun- dreds of others. Before you know it, you're an ed- itor. Through all the long day shifts and night shifts, preparing copy for the next day's newspaper, you couldn't leave. Through all the frus- trating journalism debates - ethics, objectivity, affirmative action, gen- der-inclusive language, you just couldn't leave. Something kept drawing you back, again and again. Now, as you sit behind the Mac- intosh for the umpteenth time, you realize what it is: despite the hard work the daily hassles, The Michi- gan Daily is a swell place. As gradu- See DAILY, Page 14 JOSE JUAtiEtIal~y Daily staffer Ruth Littmann works on a story. Working for the Daily isn't always easy, but as most writers will attest, more often that not, it's a lot of fun. Intramural athletics surprise even Bo by David Parrish Daily Staff Writer Even former Michigan Football Coach Bo Schembechler was sur- prized to find the intramural program sponsors 300 flag-football teams a year, said Connie Ahrens, proudly as she described the extensiveness of her programs. The intramural program - in which participation is sure to reduce stress, Ahrens said - serves thou- sands of students each year with more than 30 different sports. Sixty to 100 soccer teams, 250 softball teams, and 450 basketball teams are only a few of the sports open to all students regardless of skill level. "All of the sports are divided by divisions so everyone has an oppor- tunity to play," Ahrens said. Each sport is divided into three skill levels consisting of A, B, or superstar. The superstar level cannot earn points for all-year competitions. One of the fastest growing divi- sions is the Co-Rec division teams where men and women can play to- gether, said Jamie Bermel, assistant director of intramural sports. Co-Rec sports rules are modified to encourage equal playing opportu- nities for men and women. The in- tramural sports program also features an all women's division. Within the men's, Co-Rec and women's divisions, there is an all- campus division open to anyone re- gardless of residence or academic sta- tus. In addition, fraternities and sororities have their own division. These divisions are restricted to un- dergraduate Greek members. People who qualify for this division can also participate in residence hall sports as long as their two teams do not compete in the same sport. The residence hall division is one of the largest of the divisions and climaxes with the all-year competi- tion to determine the best hall. Trophies are awarded for all divi- sions and divisional Manager-of-the- year, Athlete-of-the-year, and an All- Sports Team awards are granted. Last year, because of over-com- petitive and over-enthusiastic play- ers, the Intramural Department began a sportsmanship rating program to make the games more friendly, said Ahrens. Today, each team is awarded a letter grade between "A" and "E." Any team that receives less than a "B" grade for the pre-play-off tour- nament is not allowed to compete in the play-offs. The rating system is similar to the system used in soccer where players are give a "yellow" card for minor offensives (i.e. obscenity, ar- guing, interference, etc.) or a "red' card for major offensives (i.e. fight- ing, profanity towards officials or opponents, etc.). After one yellow card the team cannot get above a "B" rating. If a team gets more than one card the team cannot get over a "C" rating, and if a team gets a red card they re- ceive no higher than a "D." In an effort to keep players from getting too involved in the games, the department now requires team managers to attend pre-season meet- ings. During the meetings, managers learn the basic rules of the sport and thereby, become responsible for the team player's actions. The Intramural Department pro- vides employment for approximately 250 students who work as officials each year. Officials are paid about five dollars an hour and work be- tween three and ten hours a week. Officials must attend a special pre-season clinic which takes about ten hours and is held over several days. Officials may also participate on teams. The cost of participation is about three dollars for individuals and 46 dollars for teams. The most expen- sive sport - intramural ice hockey - was started last winter and costs approximately $300 to enter. The competiton was fierce in the different hockey divisions, especially among the fraternities. Fighting, however, is strictly prohibited. Any player that participates in a fight is banned from the rest of the season. Any student interested in partici- pating on an intramural team or working for the Intramural Depart- ment should call the intramural de- partment at 769-3562. Most resi- dence halls field teams in several sports. Contact the athletic director of your house or residence for more informaitin PUT SOME FUN IN YOUR LANGUAGE STUDIES... JOIN A ROMANCE LANGUAGES CONVERSATION CLUB! CLUBS IN FRENCH, ITALIAN, PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH EACH MEET ONE AFTERNOON A WEEK, STARTING SEPTEMBER 17. BEGINNERS TO ADVANCED LEVEL WELCOME. Fall 1990 Tentative Schedule: French Club - Wednesdays, 3:00-5:00 p.m. Italian Club - Alternate Mondays, 4:00-5:00 p.m. Portuguese Club - Wednesdays, 3:30-5:00 p.m. Spanish Club - Thursdays, 2:30-4:00 p.m. (All clubs meet in the Fourth Floor Commons, MLB.) 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