6B - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 3, 1997 A felong Ann Arbor resident recognizes the town's special nature COMMENTARY alking down a hallway of any University of Michigan dorm, the diversity is almost staggering. Fewother places, it seems, could boast -epresentatives from cities as dif- fereht as Midland or Miami, states as unieUe as Ohio or California, or coun- tries as singular as Canada or Colu bia. College dorms are a cosmopolitan's paradise. And then there are the exceptions. lnsele t halls, along with every New Yrker; every Hawaiian and every Rdssian, there is the inevitable non- cosmopolitan. The native of Ann *Abr.- I myself have the honor of being one such student - whose place of persianent resi- dehtis boring and uninteresting enough to be t pradoxically freakih in a place as iverse as a Michigan dorm. CHRIS As a freshman' FARAH I had to put up with the distine- FARAH'S tion afforded such FAUCET a rare specimen. As newcomers introduced themselves, followed usual- ly by gasps of amazement at the exoti- cism of their places of origin, my annduncement that I was from Ann AYbbt was most often met by a dull stare Perhaps if I got lucky, the disin- terested soul would mutter "Oh," or even; on a good day, "Really, you're from Ann Arbor?" It got to the point where I was actu- ally embarrassed to say I was from Ann Arbor. I tried to avoid the topic of my background as much as possible. When I was somehow forced to admit to my roots, I would stare at the gr 6nd and lower my voice so the wdr dthat slipped out were barely per- ceptible. Quite possibly, there are peo- piel met my freshman year who still think4 am from some strange, unknown city called something like "Anberber." A'iA-hile ago, however, all this changed drastically. ,1'l didn't alter my birth certificate re0brds or create a phony identity. Instead; I began realizing that there are certain advantages to being from Ann Arbor; Tffemore I got to know the people I met at the University - people from as far away as New York and as close as the suburbs of Detroit - the more I under- stood that they really knew nothing about4he city they called home for at least two-thirds of the year. And because they knew very little, at the same time they weren't really able to appreciate eve hing Ann Arbor has to offer. The average University of Michigan student knows approximately this much about living in Ann Arbor: Where classes are held; where good parties are held; where the bars are; where decent restaurants are; where the closest Meijer or Kroger is located (though this last one applies only if they are very knowledgeable and have a car). Some lucky out-of-towners manage to find their way to the Arb for a peaceful afternoon stroll, or some may wind up at the Fleetwood Diner for a snack at two o'clock in the morning. But for most, Ann Arbor functionally consists of just that section bordered by State, Washington, South University and Hill. I'm not saying that, in four years here, it should be the goal of every stu- dent to know every business, every restaurant and every nook and cranny of the entire city of Ann Arbor. Obviously that's impossible. But the wrung approach to take is one that thinks of Ann Arbor as just a stop along the path of life -just a temporary watering hole - as opposed to a place that should hold all the full- ness characteristic of one's true home. Think about what makes your home special to you. It's family and friends, but it's also places. It's having those little parts of town that hold some kind of significance to you - and only you. Maybe somewhere you could go when you feel like thinking or being alone, or maybe someplace you shared with someone you were close to. For me, these places consist of parts of Ann Arbor - parts which often are never even noticed by many students. A rope swing on Barton Pond - only a 10-minute bike ride from downtown - or the bench in front of a pattern of rocks crisscrossing the Huron River as it snakes through the Arb ... The list could go on and on. There's nothing really unusual about these places, they just mean something to me. They aren't really hidden or magic in any way - in fact, they can be found by any U of M student who decides to live - actually live - in Ann Arbor. They are parts of Ann Arbor that are unique to the city but can easily be discovered and appreciated if one chooses to search beyond the shops of South University and State, or explore beyond frat houses and Hill Auditorium. Finding your own niche in the city - something you can call your own - will allow you to truly call Ann Arbor your own. And then when out-of-town- ers, friends or family, visit you from your old home, you can say that you're from Ann Arbor now - and you won't have to stare at the ground and mumble imperceptibly when you say it. -Chris Farah is a Daily sports writer You canreach him over e-mail at cjfarah@umich.edu. Angeli Hall could well be the computing capital of campus. But rising fees Imposed by the information Technology Division continue to afflict students looking to do things as simple as printing term papers or dialing In with their modems. IT s Od serve students better, lower costly Charges By Partha Mukhodaphyay station across Angell Hall and racing over only to find an "out Daily Editorial Page Writer of order" sign hanging on the monitor. At remote sites, some The University's Information Technology Division boasts computers sit, broken and unused, for more than two years. of the second-largest concentration of Macintosh computers Even finding a working station does not guarantee success. in the world - behind only the Apple Corporation head- Every month, money is allocated from tuition dollars to pay quarters. When prospective students come to visit the for computer accounts. Some is deducted for e-mail costs and University, a major selling point - right after the academics services students choose to subscribe to. The rest remains for and athletics - is the technological wonders available to printing costs, which total eight cents per printed page. Just them, if only they enroll. Marched through the Fishbowl, they two years ago, printing costs were free. stop near the auditorium hallway, and behind them As annoying, and far more frightening than the stretches the vast panorama of the Angell Hall non-working computer is the last-minute print job Computing Center. canceled for lack of ITD funds at the end of a It's an impressive sight, and if they enroll, it's one -* month. While it is possible to avoid this possibility students come to know all too well, with papers to by opening a self-funded account, most students write, the inevitable all-nighters and e-mail. To many, V decline due to the $25 minimum deposit required to computer use becomes a dependency, and more. As open one. professors catch on to the technology now available, Unfortunately, some students are forced to resort some bold teachers have begun using computers - from online to this option, due to exorbitant dial-in costs charged by ITD. conferencing to Web pages - as integral parts of their courses. Students fortunate enough to own their own computers and Whether the need arises from personal use or class neces- printers may avoid the high printing charges at ITD sites, but sity, many students absolutely depend on computers to get they must pay dearly to connect to the University network them through the day. And that's where the problems begin. during daytime and evening hours. When ITD brags about the sheer number of machines ITD can be an important ally in students' ever-increasing available, they forget to mention one small detail: At any computer usage. However, right now it is a liability, due to its given time, many of those computers do not work. At peak substandard service. Instead of misusing the funds allocated computer use times - near midterms and finals - there are to it, ITD must become more efficient and responsive to stu- few things more frustrating than spotting an open computer dents' needs. Student regent should be?.- istalled . By Jack Schillaci Daily Editorial Page Writer The University Board of Regeits guides the University's policies ahd administrative decisions. They $et tuition, establish the annual budgiand levy student fees along with countless other tasks. But students have no official voice'in the decisions that effect them so.great- ly. The student body does have a repre- sentative to the board - the Michi n Student Assembly president - but t position does not have any influence over administrative decisions. Individual students can also address he regents but there have no input into he board's decisions. Presently, such a student position is considered a conflict of interest under state law as it would enable students to grant themselves degrees. The only way to rectify the conflict is wiyr amendment to the state's constitutiM. As head of the MSA Student Regent Task Force, Andy Schor came clope tc the first step in getting an officia stu- dent voice in the administration He drafted a bill to be sponsored by state Rep. John Schwartz (R-Battle C ek), chair of the state House subcommit ee on Higher Education. However Schwartz changed his mind before it was to be introduced - negsting months of the task force's work. 4i As a result, the task force t e o- cused its efforts into getting an atex- officio student regent. The officee would be able to make motions,.anler into discussion and do everything other regents can except their' :anst important power: the ability to vote. While an ex-officio position is at easier goal to achieve - it .otily requires the passage of a regents'rs- olution - itis not adequate to 41 students' needs of representation: w An ex-officio officer would he a step in the right direction but ie inot the answer to students' probleris Only a student with the full V6tijtg power afforded to other regentrvill allow campus concerns to be brou ht to the regents' table by their -nos important constituents: the student body. U' should not mandate living learnrngT Michigan Theater, Thursday, September 4 Blues & Jazz Movies Michigan Theater, Frtday, September 5 BUDDY GUY Johnne Bassett & The Blues Insurgents, 8pm Bird of Paradise, Friday & Saturday, September 5-6 KURT ELLING with The Laurence Hobgood Trio, 9pm & 11pm Gallup Park, Saturday, September 6 MEDESKI MARTIN & WOOD Don Byron Quartet, Big Jack Johnson & The Oilers, Miss Lavelle White, Mudpuppy, Lady Sunshine & The X Band, noon-8pm Gallup Park, Sunday, September 7 MARCIA BALL, Beau Jocque & The Zydeco Hi-Rollers, Honeyboy Edwards, Paul Keller Sextet, Transmission, 2:00 Jazz Band, noon-8pm Tickets available at all TICKETMASTER outlets, Schoolkids Records, and I'J's Used Records. Charge by calling 248-645-6666. For more information call 313-747-9955, or log on to www.schoolkids.comla2.blues-jazz/ Gallup Park Gates Open At 11:00am. Program subject to change. .gM'9 aMediaOne ANARBNEWS JIFFYmixes 89.1 FMHR By Jack Schillaci Daily Editorial Pake Writer Residence halls play an integral role i students' lives. In late August, students their earthly belongings into tiny room share with someone they've never met. Part of the residence hall life equatiot ing-learning programs. There are alread programs on campus, offering students ti nity to live with people who have simila The programs are also presently volunta who apply to the Residential College1 they are getting into. But Vice President for Student Affai Hartford wants to make the programs m- at least the norm - possibly limiting University experience. Hartford wants to make sure that fir dents spend lots of time with the peopl with. In 1996, she assembled a task for options for expanding living-learning Her goal is a campus where every stude ticipate in a living-learning program. newly acquainted neighbors will live ti together, go to class together - they w