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Local banks bid for students' loot with i
Though it has never been something
I've taken pride in, I love "The Real
World" This was acceptable when I was
much younger, and the show was new,
and the cast (i.e. the New York cast) was
less moronic. This season, however, the
era of "The Real World Hawaii," has
changed the whole scope of things In
fact, it's forced me to analyze why the
show is getting more repulsive and yet
harder to miss.
In recent years I've lied about my inter-
est in the show. I pretended not to know
who Dan Renzi was from the Miami cast.
I refrained from joining debates about the
San Francisco cast even though I think
Rachel is a right-wing lunatic and the rest
of the cast are no better. At a low point I
claimed absolutely no knowledge of the
Boston cast, which is actually partly true.
I didn't watch "Boston" much because no
one was particularly good looking or
interesting that season. Then the recent
cast of "The Real Word Hawaii" sank its
cast members to new lows of behavior. It
inspired some of the female cast mem-
bers to take off their shirts, and inspired
AII's fair in the war of lo vl e .
me to break my silence.
Though my demographic is often mis-
represented in popular culture, it is insult-
ing to be misrepresented by people who
aren't even act-¢
ing. It's almost
too easy to sim-
ply write off the
Hawaii cast as
idiots. The chal-
enge lies in
defining just why
they are so stupid.
That discus-
sion starts and g
ends with Ruthie,
who seems to be Caitlin Hall
the star of the State o
show. A bisexual
alcoholic, she the Arts
was sent to rehab
by the rest of the cast because of her rude,
drunk behavior which included having
her stomach pumped, doing a striptease
for her boss's girlfriend, driving drunk
and finally throwing a glass on the floor.
She seems to be exactly what "The Real
World" is now about, walking around
naked and making evervone feel much
more intelligent after watching her
pathetic attempts at confessionals.
Ruthie attends Rutgers University and
has done her best to ruin the reputation of
the school. The Seattle cast was smart
and came from large, prestigious univer-
sities, such has Berkeley, Georgetown
and, of course, U of M. But smart people
don't get ratings. So MTV chose less
intelligent people for this cast and it's
working.
According to a recent article in the
Wall Street Journal, the percentage of
television households who tune into to
watch seven strangers stop being polite
and start being real rose 41 percent from
last year. This more than doubled the rat-
ings of the series's first season and has
raised MTV's overall ratings 18 percent
this year compared to last.
Viewers want to feel superior to the
cast. People who understand their behav-
ior will be in syndication for the rest of
their life, or who want to do something
besides hang around the free house, or,
who are literate - no dice, that sort
might intimidate viewers. Unfortunately
for Rutgers, MTV knew they had a sure
thing with Ruthie. Now when people
think of the school they won't remember
Paul Robeson, the Rhodes scholar, actor
and professional athlete. They will think
of Ruthie, the topless wonder from "The
Real World Hawaii."
Not only does the cast sound and act
stupid, they even look ridiculous. They
went on vacation to India, which seemed
to inspire this season's fashion victim,
Cava, to wear a different bindi in every
shot. Seriously, I promise I was watching
and everv time I saw Cava, brand new
bindi! Doesn't she think this might look a
little sacrilegious'? However, I must admit
that when Ruthie came back from the
clinic, Cava gave her a bindi to wear at
Local Motion, the shop where they all
have fake jobs. It made Ruthie loot:
cross-eyed. So I guess Cava is not all bad
(plus she goes to Berkeley).
Matt, on the other hand, has problems.
First of all, he never blinks. He only
wears a neon green terry cloth shirt and
has no personality except he's "the nice
guy." Apparently he is concerned for
Ruthie and her drinking problem. Maybe
Matt forgot how in the first episode he
told the whole world on TV that Ruthie -
was his physical ideal in a woman. Most
See HALL, Page 16B
By Jenni Glenn
Fine & Performing Arts Editor
Hurrying across campus to class,
most students pay little attention to
their surroundings, surroundings that
include bustling ATMs and bank
branches lining the streets.
Whether circumstances require
' !dents to pay for books, deposit
their paychecks or make out yet
another check to the University for
tuition, most people maintain a
checking account on campus.
Although choosing a bank seems like
a simple process, various options vie
for students' attention.
The best choice depends on the
individual's needs. Most area banks
offer similarly structured interest and
non-interest checking accounts, so
the advantages lie primarily in the
service and the locations of the
branches and ATMs.
Students look for a bank close to
home and to classes. LSA senior
Golfo Tzilos decided to open an
account at National City on South
University for the convenience of the
location. "It was the first bank I saw,"
she said.
While both National City -and
Comerica are part of national chains,
their local branches aim their ser-
vices at a student clientele because of
their locations at opposite ends of the
Diag area. Ninety-five percent of the
North University Comerica branch's
customers are students, Comerica
campus branch manager Beth
Tomaszewski said. "We're right here
on campus," she said. "You can't get
any closer."
Locally based banks have less of
an advantage in terms of being locat-
ed near student activities.
Headquartered on William Street, the
University of Michigan Credit Union
lacks a branch in the center of cam-
pus but has ATMs at the Union, the
League and UHS, plus branches at
Pierpont Commons and on
Eisenhower Road. The credit union
offers a checking account with no
minimum balance or service fees,
which helps to compensate for its
location. "I do wish we had more
See Joe thinking See Sasha gettingj
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One of these thin s is
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0 The Princeton Review
COMPAREA - wBANK
When choosing a financial institution, one most take into considuration bank
policies. Here arc a few banks and their basic policies.
National City
10 Ann Arbor branches
Batic Checking: check safekeeping, monthly limites on transactions, main-
tainance fee
Regular Checking: no transaction limits, daily minimum balance of S500 and
service charges if it falls below that
ATMs at all brances and at the Union
Comerica
3 Ann Arbor branches
V\alue Checking: monthly limits on transactions, tswo free teller-assisted trans-
actions per cycle, no maintenance fee if have direct deposit of pay and check safe-
keeping
R rC Cecking: no transactio limi s, daiiy minimum bajance of 5300 and ser-
vice charges if it falls below that
ATMs at North U, Man and E. Washington branches
U-NI Credit Union
3 Ann Arbor branches
Regular checking: 525 to open
ATMs at all brances, M League. I Union, U HS, Dearbom and Flint campuse
__ Jenni Glenn
presence right smack in the middle of
campus," said Jim Kirk, UMCU's
director of business development.
UMCU also has fewer locations
than its national competitors.
Comerica provides its services to
customers at full service branches on
Main Street and West Stadium plus
an electronic service center on North
University. Comerica's primary com-
petitor National City boasts 10 Ann
Arbor branches as well as ATMs at.
the Union.
Tzilos is content with National
City because of its ser\ice. In her
experience, she doesn't wait in the
lines at the ATMs because the branch
has a lot of tellers. "That's the biggest
bank I've been to here in terms of
tellers, so they can cater to your
needs more," she said.
Other students prefer to do most of
their banking by ATM. As a result,
Comerica's North University branch
switched last year to an ATM format
with service representatives on hand
rather than employing tellers.
Tomaszewski said students like the
self-sers ice approach because there
are fewer (and faster) lines. We're an
automated branch. so we make it very
easy for them." she said.
Besides the x hopping five ATM's
of the campus branch, Comerica also
has machines in the Union, on Ma in
Street and on East Washington. "We
have the highest concentration of
machines,' Tomaszewski boasted.
National City offers several ATM
programs for customers. Recruiting
students at the Unversity's orienta-
tion sessions, the bank offers a ser-
s ice to allow students the use of their
M-Ciards in the bank's ATM
machines. Customers. including
Tilos, alo use the Check Card,
which opertes as a debit card at r-
ious stores and also works in the
Al NIS.
Some lee11 bnks ox n campu
ATvs to ga some student business.
The Ban k of Ann Arbor, For cxample,
aims its serics1 1at the local smal
business market but recently installed
an ATM on the corner of North
Universt' and State Street.
This ATM allowed the bank to get
news busoiness from customers with
accounts at other banks It gets a lot
of use." said Patti Judson, Bank of
Ann Arbor branch mnanagzer. "I wsould
say the majority of transactions {at
that AT.M) are people wsho are not
Bank of Ann Arbor customers".
Customers usmng a diferent bank's
19
at
ATM incur service charges, w
causes problems for many stud
during the summer. While livinge
where, students still need to l
access to their checking accounts
Tzilos also uses her National
account when she travels to
hometown, Livonia, since the I
has branches in many areas. Bect
they have branches in several di
ent states, Comerica and Nati
City share an advantage, in
respect.
Some students simply cont
using one of the national banks z
coming to the University. Fresh
Jon Ophoff already had a Nati
City savings account when he sta
college. "I guess the advantatze w
be if vou're out of town, you w
still have fairly easy access to :
account," he said.
While most students open acco
with the national chains, local b
focus on improved sere ice to C
pete on a more equal foot
Students using the credit uni
F
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