The Michigan Daily/New Student Edition-City-Thursday, September 9, 1993- Page 3
Fans gather during Final Four
Riot-like atmosphere created during NCAA basketball tourney
by Jon DIMasclo
Daiy Staff Reporter
I
By early April, Spring Break tans
are fading and term paper deadlines
loom on the horizon.
The most exciting event for students
tohopefor-besides anationalbasket-
ball championship -is ariotin theAnn
Arbor streets.
On Monday April 7, University stu-
dents only got half their wish.
When Wolverine Chris Webber's
hands formed a "T" and the University .
of North Carolina's Eric Montross's
fingers formed a V," the streets of Ann '
Arbor fell silent.
A trickle of students - 2,500 to
3,000 - collected on the streets and $
sidewalks of centralcampus.Atfirst the
bewildered students muttered, "This
sucks."
They quickly began to debate u T'
Webber's time-out call.
"Webber's a goat."
"Oh no, I saw a coach call the time
out," shouted another student.
Soon, projectiles and glass shards
flew through the air. But generally the
crowd milled around, shouting nothing
more original than, "F ___N-C." A few thousand close friends of the Fab Five gathered at the intersection of S
The vortex positioned itself at the after the Michigan basketball team defeated Kentucky to advance to college
junction of South University Ave. and
Church St. - the corner between
Stucchi's and Good Time Charley's - hoping to keep students from driving authorities flanked the protesters with a
for ongoing chants and debates. while intoxicated to find more alcohol. human wall in an effort to stave them
One hundred and fifty members of But SUMAs effort did not stop fans off. The wall halved. One formed along
the Ann Arbor police and the from using intoxicants. SouthForest St. while the otherlinedup
University's Department of Public The police compared the protest with on East University. The lines advanced,
Safety prepared themselves with riot Saturday's victory celebration, saying filtering fans north or south on Church
gear in case the crowd turned ugly. that the crowd after Michigan's loss St.
AAPD Sgt. Jack Ceo said the police was much more drunk and unruly than In total, the police made 17 arrests.
intended to let the crowd burn its own the prior congregation. Felonious assault was the most serious
energy. Ceo added the police were re- After initial chants, University stu- charge. One Ann Arbor high school
luctant to use tear gas or force, fearing dents remained, but the crowd was student was allegedly attacked by three
either would incite violence. Although supplemented by many Ypsilanti and men and 11 others were hospitalized.
the police did not provoke violent ac- Detroit residents. But the scene at South University
tion, some fights took place. AAPD Lt. John King blamed most, three days earlier had a different face.
The South University Merchant of the violence on people not affiliated Twelve thousand fans flocked to the
Association united in an effort to keep with the University. same street Saturday night, to celebrate
the area free of drunkenness. Area bars "The 12,000 that came to South U. Michigan's victory over the Kentucky
and stores stopped selling alcohol - on Saturday were mostly students who Wildcats. Celebrants came from every
including blue beer-after halftime of came to celebrate a victory. But corner of campus. They staggered out
both Final Four games, even though Monday's crowd did not appear to be of bars, ran from their fraternities, so-
they lostanywhere from $600to $1,000 (University) students. It was a group of rorities, residence halls, homes and from
each night. die-hard fans, and they weren't there to a big screen exhibition of the game at
The exception, Hop-In, continued celebrate," King said. Crisler Arena. Fans swung from signs
to sell alcohol throughout the game After nearly two hours of rioting, and awnings chanting, "Final Four
Summer fsias highih Ann
AUTUMN IN ANN ARBOR MEANS
DOUGLAS KANTEFVDally
outh University Ave. and Church St.
basketball's final game.
They ran to total strangers for hugs and
high fives.,
Broken windows were generally the
largest problem. At 11:30 a bottle was
thrown at the window of Cava Java. A
fright ran through aportion of the crowd
when the bottle's crash caused one
woman to shout, "Oh my God, he's got
a gun."
Helmeted police officers, who re-
sembled a crowd of Terminator mer-
cury men, were in a relaxed and jovial
mood. While making sure the crowd
didnotgetoutofhand, they joined in the
celebration.
Parents may be leery of sending
their gifted children to the University's
riot-stricken campus, but the riots are
no worse than a dollar pitcher night at
Rick's.
Just remember to be prepared. Be-
fore you throw that last bag into the car
on your way to the airport or the high-
way to Ann Arbor - pack riot gear.
~rbor year
concerts andfilms in the evening,
long talks in espresso bars,
browsing and meeting friends
at Borders!
* Over 120,000 titles to discover
" Discounts on NY Times bestsellers,
monthly recommended titles,
and most hardcovers
" Knowledgeable staff
" Excellent computer book section
" Hundreds of periodicals
by Flint Wainess
Daily Staff Reporter
* Reflecting on the seasonal cycle of
life leaves me with only a few words of
wisdom for the incoming foot soldiers.
Don't wait for the cycle to break you,
break the cycle, i.e. spend those dreary
winter months in hibernation (or atleast
with a cold beer).
I know, that is seemingly brash ad-
vice brought out by a few too many
spring evenings and afew toolittle days
in Economics class. But my "skip-the-
* winter" theory can easily be proved by
a; simple examination of three of the
most celebrated events the University
has to offer.
Hash Bash. An event that could
conceivably present an obstacle to my
theory. After all, what could be better
than thousands of "Generation X" ac-
tivists portraying their disgust with a
society infringing on their most basic
civil liberties? Answer: Almost any-
thing.
Lastyear'sHashBashcouldonlybe
described with the phrase "Don't be-
lieve the hype." By the time you trudge
through amelangeofrain and snow and
reach the Diag (home of Hash Bash),
you realize Hash Bash has become a
forumforoldboring Libertarians to yell
about how wonderful pot is. No longer
a political rally, Hash Bash is now a
place for the ignorant and apathetic to
congregate and drown their sorrows...
for free.
The crowds have been getting pro-
gressively smaller to the point where
thehighlightof Hash Bash has become
NORML's yearly victory over the Uni-
versity for the right to hold the bash in
the diag.
My pointhere is that HashBash-
the granddaddy of winter celebrations
-is a bust. But aaahhh, the beauty of
spring/summer in o1' A2.
Top of the Park. Picture this, hun-
dreds of college students and stray Ann
Arborites hangin' out on the rooftop at
the Power Center, soaking in the mel-
lowtunesofGardonLightfootandcatch-
ing night after night of free showings of
"Casablanca."
Free flicks every night for one full
* month.
vide the ultimate outdoor experience,
sun withstanding.
So what does this all add up to? The
best advice Ihave to give. Take the best
the University has to offer (spring/sum-
mer) and run with it. Sure, it may take
you a few extra years to graduate. But it
is well worth the wait.
And most importantly, you'll skip
the depression of watching the wintery
tradition of Hash Bash sink slowly into
a mire of pointless smokathons. When
you come to the University, you're en-
tering what they used to call "Little
Berkeley," a bastion of political action
and energy.
But, in the winter, that energy just
doesn't seem to be there anymore. I
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EVAN TRIEDaily
An unidentified man gets high on life during last year's Hash Bash.N Eo/say
the annual gathering is a needless smokathon. Think so?
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