121 --- k lichigan Daily -.Weekd, etc. Magazine-ThwrsdEebruary );2001
0,
The Michigan Daif Weekend, etc
DEGREES OF RE-DATING
Hockey without sticks: Broomball cra2
It's said that in the world people are
separated by no more than six degrees.
Each individual is connected to every
other person in the world by six people
or less. I'm not sure who came up with
this concept or
how scientific it
is, but it seems to
make sense.
It's a small
world after all.
Yep, the annoy-
ing song from
Disney's theme
pak ride applies
not only to life,
but also to the
world we live in
-- particularly
the University
community. And
here, the world is
even smaller.
Six degrees
so many connections.
First you have the high school connec-
tion. There are plenty of "feeder" schools
that drop close to 100 students into the
student body each year. These schools
are very often in the same area, making
the number of people who know each
other even larger. Multiply this by four
for the years that you're in college (well,
four years in theory), and you have a big
pool of people who know each other.
Next you have the people that have
had a class together. Most of the time,
due to the size of lecture halls, not all that
many people know each other, but group
study sessions, discussion sections and
group work often bring people together.
Plus, depending on which school
you're in and what your major is, you
have a better or worse chance of meeting
more people. For example, an English
major is probably more likely to get to
know people than an engineer, but an
architect might know people better
because of the close group work.
Then you have all the people that you
lived with in the dorm. While you might
Lindsey
Alpert
Put Out or
Get Out
have known someone as "that weird guy
who always word boxers a size too
small," they might end up being your
roommate's new boyfriend.
Never underestimate the power of the
dorms, because many of the people from
them will probably enter your life at
some other point in your college experi-
ence. You don't even have to know that
they lived on the same hall as you when
you re-meet a few years down the line,
and realize how small the world really is.
So then, how does this small world
affect us? Well, while it makes the
University a friendlier place, it also
makes things a bit more complicated.
When everyone seems to know about
everyone else, problems tend to arise in
the dating world. Is it OK to date a
friend? How close is too close of a friend
to date? What if you just meet someone
and hit it off, but one of their friends
knows you and says you're a jerk? What
if you date a friend's ex but don't really
realize it?
In terms of dating a friend's ex, I'll
have to speak for the women's point of
view. While there is no universal "code"
on the subject, most females that I have
come across practice similar methods.
And what might these methods be?
Simply put, you don't date a friend's ex,
which for the purpose of this column,
we'll call re-dating. Of course there are
exceptions and variations, but for the
most part, the ex really is off limits. In
some rare instances, such as a short dat-
ing period, or a long time since breaking
up, friends can date a friend's ex, but
these are few and far between.
Some codes are stricter than others,
disallowing the re-dating of a one-time
date or even one-time crush, while others
are more lax, allowing for flexibility on a
case-by-case basis.
But, regardless of code, probably the
worst situation to step into would be
attempting to date more than one room-
mate or housemate. You're just setting
yourself up for trouble considering that
the two live together. It gets particularly
tricky when you either fall for a room-
mate while spending time with the per-
son you're dating, or if you had a bad
break-up and want to date a roommate.
Then there are the particularly evil
people who feign interest in order to get
closer to a roommate or housemate. If
you are one of these people - first,
you're evil and secondly, you're setting
yourself up for defeat. While this strate-
gy might work once in a blue moon, the
original window into the house (in this
case the poor soul who thinks you actu-
ally like them) will possibly place a
claim on you and you'll be off limits to
the one you're trying to get close to.
Once a claim is placed, it's pretty hard
of separation doesn't seem to apply.
I'd say it's more like three degrees of
separation - or less. There are just
to get around it. You're immediately off
limits to anyone in the claimer's circle of
friends, and if you do manage to get
beyond the claim, all hell breaks loose.
The house becomes an arena of chaos,
friends pit themselves against friends
and at least one person is considered a
backstabber. While this might sound
extreme, this stuff really does happen.
Another unusual situation is when you
wind up dating a friend's ex, but you
don't realize you're participating in re-
dating. Most of the time this doesn't hap-
pen between really close friends because
you probably would have met their ex
while they were dating, but it can and
does happen. So if you don't meet their
ex, and while you might know of them
only in name, you have no clue when
you meet them in a class, at a party or
anywhere else where you'd meet people.
This situation is normally forgivable,
but in extreme cases, you might have to
choose between the friend and re-dating.
You might also realize that the seeming-
ly datable person that you met and want-
ed to date is the psycho that your friend
dumped and had been talking about for
the past few weeks.
And then there's the stuff said about
you. While there's the potential that your
ex said good things about you, for the
most part, you're pretty screwed when
you try re-dating one of their friends.
This is particularly true if the break up
was bad and the friend has heard what a
jerk you are, how insufficient you are in
bed, or any other heinous behavior that
you did while dating their friend.
So is there no hope for re-dating? Nah,
not all the time. As long as you remem-
ber to look at the-big picture and not be
particularly evil, you should come out
fine. And who knows, maybe one time
or another you'll make a claim on the
perfect person.
- Lindsey Alpert will process all clais
at lalpert@umich.edu.
By Matthew Barrett
Daily Arts Writer
It's like hockey but with brooms. So
goes the poor man's explanation of
broomball. But in reality, it's so much
more. Broomball is a fun, fast paced
game which lets you enjoy many of
hockey's pleasures without having to
learn to skate.
Getting started playing broomball is
pretty simple. Most people just wear
their tennis shoes, although more
experienced players often wear special
shoes with additional gripping to help
them maneuver better on the ice.
Brooms can come in all shapes and
sizes, but the most effective combines
the head of a broom with the body of
a hockey stick for a powerful shooting
weapon.
The game plays out very similar to
hockey with goals set up on each end
of the ice (they are usually taller and
wider than a standard hockey goal)
with the object being to put the ball
past the goalie and into the net. The
game is played with a hard rubber ball
that is slightly larger than a baseball.
Moving around on the ice can be a
little tricky at first and will likely
result in a few nasty spills. Even those
who are experienced skaters will find
the transition to wearing shoes on the
ice a difficult one. The initial slipping
and sliding will result in some frus-
trating moments while you're getting
accustomed to the playing surface.
Because of this and the high intensity
level of the game, it's wise to put on as
many pads as you can while you play.
Elbow pads, knee pads and even shin
guards from your soccer glory days
should save you at least a few bumps
and bruises.
One of the trickiest parts of broom-
ball is finding free ice to play the
game on. Because broomball takes up
so much space, it's not practical to
attempt to play at a free skate or open
ice time. Students can, however, par-
ticipate in a league twice a year
through the Intramural Sports depart-
ment.
Love for broomball has also lead to
the formation of the University
Broomball club, a group of 15 players
who play the game on the club sports
level. The club was founded by people
who enjoyed playing Intramural
broomball but felt that the season was
too short and wanted a chance to play
the game more often.
Members of the club, which was
started last school year, have traveled
across the country to play tournaments
in Minnesota, New York and tOhio.
The club is open to anyone and
according to its president,
Engineering junior Adam Wilson, the
appeal of broomball is universal.
"Broomball is so great because any-
one can play. With a little bit of prac-
tice you can be one of the best at the
sport. It's also so great because once
people play, they are hooked" Wilson
said.
So why not saw off one of your
mother's brooms, take to the ice and
give broomball a try? You might be
bruised but you won't be disappointed.
Members of the U of M Broom
Fest 2000 In Cincinnati last y(
Borders moment no. 49
"Love and Death were the great mysteries of
my childhood...l knew then that love
gave life meaning..."
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