Mw w! 1OF - The Michigan Daily - Football Saturday - October 23, 1999 C AMPUS Cit bends rules for football fans zir i w w NEws 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 ,.. ....................................................................................................................................... ; .. '.: fir= : . 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 . a.i ...........i...N.SS .................i .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 LIVE