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1OF - The Michigan Daily - Football Saturday - October 23, 1999 C AMPUS
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V October 23, 1999
By Robert Gold
Dail taff Reporter
Six Saturdays each fall, thousands of
cars, buses, and vans pile into the Ann
Arbor Pioneer High School Parking
Lot. As the lot fills to capacity, drivers,
are directed to the adjoining lawns and
Ann Arbor Police Department officers
keep an eye on tailgating activities.
On Football Saturdays, the
University campus is awash in automo-
biles as fans across the country travel to
Ann Arbor to watch the Wolverines bat-
tle it out on the gridiron.
While the main thought on most
fans' minds is the game, officials rep-
resenting the University, city and sur-
rounding agencies need to be pre-
pared for the large influx of automo-
biles into a city already strained for
parking.
University Facilities and Game
Oprations Manager Robert Chkock
said there are neaiy 16,000 king
spots in "close proximty" to Michigan
Stadium, including University parking
services, Athletic Departnt parking
and non-University affiliates like Ann
Arbor Golf and Outing located on Fast
Stadium Boulevard.
Ann Arbor Assistant Parking
Manager Jim Stein said there is gener-
ally not an increase in parking citations
on Football Saturdays except for "pro-
hibited" tickets - like parking in a tow
away zone or on sidewalks. Stein said
the most common complaints are from
residents who complain about blocked
property.
"It's not a majority of people. Some
people just don't care," Stein said, refer-
ring to ticket recipients.
While crowded streets may upset
some drivers, a long standing city ordi-
nance does provide some relief.
The ordinance gives owners of pri-
vate property the right to allow vehicles
to park on their front lam-s dring
home football ganes.
In the 27 years he has been working
for the city, Stein said tieharaace has
alavs been active.
The dire need for parking on
Football Saturdays isn't a new issue.
A set of agreements orchestrated
between the Ann Arbor Public
Schools and the University Reents
during the 1950s included parking
stipulations.-
According to the minutes of an
October 1950 University Board of
Regents eeting, Ann Arbor Public
Schools sold the University a parcel of
land called Wires Field - now Elbei
ALLISON CANTOR/Daly
Ann Arbor Pioneer High School's parking lot, located across the street from
Michigan Stadium, is one of the main lots used by football fans for both parking
and tailgating during home games in the fall.
MASCOTS
Continued from Page 6F
evolved from a portrait drawn in the
early 1960s by a local artist. Prior to the
drawing, a series of live Irish terriers
named "Clashmore Mike" held the
esteemed position. When the last terri-
er died, the tradition of having a student
mascot began, said Dennis Brown,
assistant director of Public Relations
for Notre Dame.
Now, during each Notre Dame foot-
ball game, junior Mike Brown dons his
leprechaun outfit, a matching green
suit and hat, to cheer for the Fighting
Irish as the school's official mascot.
He said he loves "putting smiles on
people's faces" and going crazy on the
field. Since his face is visible when he's
wearing his costume, Brown is often
greeted by students across Notre
Dame's campus who recognize him as
the leprechaun. "I see myself represent-
ing all fans. I'm like the biggest fan. If
you don't have a mascot, you are miss-
ing the biggest fan," Brown said.
To become a mascot, Mike Brown had
a one day tryout and three weeks of
workshops. Besides cheerleading stunts,
tryouts included a panel interview with
six judges and a mock interview. He
practices with the cheerleading team.
Jason Zicchino, MSU student and
co-director of the Sparty program, said
the MSU mascot is not associated with
the cheerleading squad on campus. To
apply to be Sparty, students must write
an essay about why they want to repre-
sent MSU and fit the proportions of the
costume.
I f you're a University alumnus reliving the
football Saturdays of your youth, we bet
you remember tons of great traditions.
It's Friday night. You've got a little money
and a date in mind. What are you going to
do? Bowl? See a concert? Play pool? Go
paint Sparty blue ? Oh, wait, the MSU march-
ing band is guarding it. And the Daily doesn't
endorse that anyway.
How about a movie? It always comes
down to that. No matter what the plethora of
options available, a movie is always the easi-
est choice. So you jump in the car and drive
down to Showcase and slap your last $10 on
the counter forgetting they don't offer a stu-
dent discount.
You don't have enough. So you run out to
your car and get enough change to pay for the
movie, but you're too late. The movie has
already started. You didn't want to support a
national theater chain anyway.
So it's back to Ann Arbor where the State
Theater is showing the same movie to accom-
Edited and managed by
students at the VHEATH
-University of Michigan Editc
420 Maynard Streetnwessn h
AnArbor, M I 48109 crtoons do
A Michigan
Campus community should support theater
mooate the student budget. With the movie
paid for, you've retained car change to buy a
drink and popcorn.
Walking home, you notice the Michigan
Theater is showing an interesting indepen-
dent film in their new $4 million addition.
Your date offers to make it a double feature.
Where was this money at Showcase you
wonder?
Your significant other didn't want to sup-
port a heartless national movie conglomerate
either and came to this realization after seeing
the cash drawers overflowing at Showcase.
Local theatres are part ofAnn Arbor's culture.
Where else can you find two quality inde-
pendent movie theaters that offer student dis-
counts? Showcase doesn't care about stu-
dents.
Field - for S115,000. In return the
University sold roughly 210 acres of
land to the school district for S250,000.
The property became the future site of
Ann Arbor Pioneer High School.
One stipulation of the 1950 agree-
ment said when the Ann Arbor High
School xacated its site, "bound by State,
Huron, Thayer, and Washington
streets,;the University had the option
of purchasig the building.
In 1956, Pioneer was completed and
the Universtv bought the old building
for S1.4 million. The renovated struc-
ture became Frieze Building.
While the University was willing to
part with its land, it was not ready to
lose the needed parking spaces.
Another stipulation placed in the
agreement the public schools were
required to "build and maintain" a
parking lot of at least 20 acres with
the capacity for at least 5,000 cars.
The agreement required the lot to be
open to the public, "at a reasonable
charge", when the Michigan Stadium
was in use.
Calvin Dobbins, Ann Arbor super-
visor of transportation and director
of parking operations said parking
spaces are "utilized on every piece
of the property", including all
grassy areas in front and behind of
the school.
Fart o1 Ann Arbxws charm is the access
bility of so many independent businesses th,
are tailored to the student population.
They're alternatives to the mainstrean
You can choose from a dozen or so bool
stores, an unbelievable number of caffein
refueling stations, a nice variety of stores an
shops, as well as two unique moie theatre
all within a few blocks; that is, if you ca
scrape together enough change from your ca
Where else can you see major movie
from the balcony,in an intimate theater wit
a group of your peers?
Open sinee 1928, the Michign Theater i
a campus tradition and a landmark, as well a
an organization committed to bringing yo
movies and shows that you won't see any
where else in Ann Arbor. It's a restored '20
Colleges or prisons?
Engler must re-prioritize budget
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Get paid to party.
G ov. John Engler's $1.8 billion higher
education budget went into effect on
Oct. 1, giving the University 4.8 percent
more funding than last year, coupled with an
additional 2 percent designated to technolog-
ical improvements. Accordingly, the
University Board of Regents approved the
lowest tuition increase in more than 10 years.
Should we rejoice? Well, not so fast.
Beneath the glittering statistics lies the reali-
ty: The University still needs more state fund-
ing. Comparatively, the 1999-2000 tuition
increase is marginal - a 2.8 percent increase
from last year.
Also included in Engler's proposal was a
five-tier system that groups universities
according to the amount of funding received
from the state. The University was placed in
the top level_- "the research tier" --
grouped together with Michigan State and
Wayne State universities based on a funding
floor of $9,000 per student.
The University is consistently ranked
among the top five research universities in
the country, placing it ahead of such Ivy
League schools as Yale and Princeton. If the
other two state universities in our "research
tier" receive similar funding, yet participate.
in fewer research projects, is it justified for
legislators to group them together?
We don't think so. While Wayne State and
Michigan State educate thousands of stu-
dents every year, they serve a different pur-
pose than the University of Michigan.
Michigan is the top research university in the
country, receiving more federal research
funding than any other U-S. school. Research
funding cannot be measured in dollars per
student. Because the needs of the University
increase disproportionately with those of
other universities, it is vital that it receives the
appropriate funding.
Maybe it's because Engler is a Michigan
State alumnus. But we just can't understand
how he could even try to equate Michigan
State and the University of Michigan. If he
wants us to fall from the top tier of national
universities to a second-rate school, he should
continue this demented funding plan.
But Michigan isn't the only post-sec-
ondary institution that's been shafted by
Engler's budget. Higher education should be
near the top of Engler's priority list, but
recent evidence suggests otherwise. The bud-
get for correctional facilities is expected to
eclipse that of higher education in the
upcoming year. Last year's correctional facil-
ities budget was $1.3 billion, compared with
this year's $1.8 billion for higher education.
That is a sorry statement about Michigan's
priorities. We'd rather see young people edu-
cated than locked in prison.
The number of students enrolled full-time
in Michigan's public universities is nearly six
times the prison population. This should be a
wake up call to the legislature to consider the
re-allocation of funds. It is appalling that the
state government spent nearly as much
money prison facilities as it would invest in
its future: the students.
Although Engler increased funding to the
University, it evidently wasn't enough to pre-
vent a tuition increase. Furthermore, the
needs of each university should be assessed
on an individual basis, so that the use of state
funds is equitable. It is time for our elected
officials in Lansing to reconsider the need for{
adequate funding for public universities.
Students shouk
ithout knowledgeable, hard workin
professors and Graduate Studen,
Instructors, a university cannot be considerec
a top school. Luckily, the University does no
have this problem; the faculty consists o
many professors who are leaders in thei
fields. The University has a different issue -
not enough people make use of the school
talented faculty.
As part of their effort to help students suc-
ceed, most professors and GSIs offer oper
office hours at set times during the week. At
these times, students may come to ask ques-
tions, prepare for exams or simply to learn
more about a topic that interests them.
Sounds like a great oppotunity, doesn't
it? Students are able, at no additional fee, tc
get advice and extra help from some of the
top educators in the uurkd.There is no draw-
back - no one is graded during office hours
Students embarrassed about asking question
in class can do so in a pivate, one-on-one set
ting. Office hours alleviate many of the prob
lems that large lecture halls expeience, suel
as the normal lack of interaction with ar
inrshtuctor.
Students lead incredibly busy lives. I
addition to classes, they study, participate it
sports, clubs and interest groups, shop for
themselves and sometimes even sit down and
just relax. Amidst all these demands, student
should not forget about the opportunity to
meet with instructors. Dkspite having bus)
schedules, there is always time for utilizing
office hours.
There are a number of benefits (for stu-
dents) to seeing professors and GSIs," o_
Henderson, an LSA aca advisor, said.
QOne oftheimain bencfis in emn aok
Wi u 's Tailgate Challenge
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.When was the last time you were paid to party? Now, the better
your party, the better your chance to win great prizes from
Michigan Live. This footbal season, we'll be at every Wolverines.
home game taking pictures of the best tailgate parties. We'll
publish the cream of the crop and let you decide who is the king
of the tailgaters. Check out the latest photo gallery and vote
for your favorites at http://aa.mlive.com/tailgate/gallery.
MICHIGAN
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