NEW STUDENT EDITION
NEWS: 76-DAILY NN
www.michigandally.com
RBOR
SECTIONF
Fall 2002
MICHAEL
Fifty arrests made at Hash Bash
GRASS
a trainzing
ground for 4fre's
finer experiences
~e eare few cities in the Midwest that measure up to
* nn Arbor. Aside from Madison, our fair city, corn-
* .1 ared to any other Big Ten college town, is the best
around
Columbus is large, but lacks character. West Lafayette is in
the middle of nowhere. Evanston, with Ivy-envy, is much like
New Haven: Dead. And everyone in East Lansing is grain-fed.
Or so the theory goes.
Ann Arbor is simply different. Instead of strip malls lining
the main drag, we have an Art Deco theater and used book-
stores. Instead of going to Taco Bell for late-night munchies,
we, go to the Fleetwood Diner. Instead of going to an Olive
Garden for a romantic Italian dinner, we go to Gratzi or Bella
Ciao. Instead of any mun-of-the-mill suburban franchise like
Applebee's, we have "real" neighborhood hangouts, like Ash-
ley's Pub and the Brown Jug.
Bottom-line: We live, work, study and party in a real city
Although Ann Arbor can be very isolating at times, the best
thing about this city is that it looks outside its borders for
inspiration and self-improvement. We have great architecture,
vibrant neighborhoods and establishments that have history
and tradition.
And Ann Arbor is a stepping stone to better things in life.
Our critics say that we're stuck-up, arrogant and trapped in six
square miles surrounded by reality
But is that something to be ashamed of? No. We should cel-
ebrate it.
One of Ann Arbor's greatest fans, public radio personality,
Midwestern icon and writer Garrison Keillor aptly described
Ann Arbor's residents - including its students - during a
live broadcast of "A Prairie Home Companion" 'in December
at Hill Auditorium: "People in expensive scruffy clothing,
talking like socialists, in expensive restaurants."
While Keillor's description may paint Ann Arbor as a super-
ficial city, propped up by a pretentious and pompous facade, it
is a training ground for the real world -a cross section of
society with all of its problems crammed into a city with
110,000 people who embrace the diversity and ideas that
shape our world.
If you're an in-stater, Ann Arbor is a great training ground
for social mobility and provides a large number of options for
choosing a path in life. It's a place where you can learn to
enjoy a good single-malt scotch, progressive jazz, inventive
vegan food or an excellent microbrew.
It's a place that is a stopping-off point for the world's great-
est orchestras and speakers. It's a nexus for debate, philosophy
and issues. It's a place to tap a keg, find out the difference
between New York and Chicago-style pizza, go see a foreign
film, understand Kant, question authority, stay up all night
with friends and play video games, realize that your high
school English teacher was an idiot for embracing the philoso-
phy of Ayn Rand and eat the best damn Buffalo wings this
side of Lake Erie (at Mr. Spot's of course).
It's a place to hang out and a place to be serious. In Michi-
gan, only Ann Arbor provides such an environment; you won't
find that in East Grand Rapids (where I'm from), Farmington
Hills or Traverse City (or up the road in East Lansing for that
matter).
For an out-of-stater, Ann Arbor provides those same oppor-
tunities, but also offers something else - a reality check. Let's
say you're from Nassau County, N.Y and you're coming to
Ann Arbor because of Michigan sports and a chance of get-
ting into the Business School. You think that since your home,
let's say Dix Hills, Great Neck or Jericho, is located near New
York City, you are all-knowing and have the right to inherit the
earth. While New York is arguably the world's greatest urban
environment, it isn't the only one. "Doing one's time in the
Midwest" 'as one out-of-state friend once told me, is probably
one of the most important things for an East Coaster.
"It has made me a better person' she said. "Ann Arbor will
do that to you.'
She's right. In such a small but vibrant and global environ-
ment, students in Ann Arbor get to douse themselves in a city
that is built on a human scale and has developed into a place
where people open up their minds and reshape themselves and
are better for it.
And that isn't just limited to the out-of-staters.
This happens to all people who come through this place -
whether you are from northern New Jersey, Detroit's east side
or Indonesia. Then when you move away, as my friend put it,
"you keep your experience in Ann Arbor in your back pocket
and refer back to it when you need to . .. just to make sure that
you are appreciating not only where you are in life but what
you can do with it."
Of course, any college town is supposed to do that. It's just
the University of Michigan, because of Ann Arbor, does better
than most places.
The integration of "town and gown" as it is called, makes
Ann Arbor what it is. And it is what makes me miss the city
now. Some people never move away. Others who do move on
wish they never did. Everybody who happens to come
through Ann Arbor appreciates the city both for its benefits
and its downfalls.
Yes, there are better places than Ann Arbor. No doubt. But it
is places like Ann Arbor that prepare people to appreciate
those better places and the finer things in life. That is what
makes Ann Arbor so great. Enjoy.
- Michael Grass is a recent University graduate and served
tI t Dnl;, r'nitinI nanr editor in 2001 He can be
By Jeremy Berkowitz
and Rob Goodspeed
Daily Staff Reporters
Despite limitations placed on vendors and cool tem-
peratures, thousands of people gathered on the Diag for
the annual Hash Bash celebration Saturday, April 6,
2002.
The event brought local high school and college stu-
dents together with marijuana enthusiasts from across
the country who gathered for an hour of speakers and
music.
The participants filled the streets surrounding cam-
pus throughout the day.
Also present were over 15 uniformed Department of
Public Safety Officers on the Diag and Ann Arbor
Police officers patrolling the area surrounding campus.
The agencies made more than 50 arrests during the
event, most for possession of marijuana.
DPS spokeswoman Diane Brown said of 24 people
arrested by DPS officers, an additional 13 were cited.
Of these, only four had Ann Arbor addresses - and
just one was a University student. One of those arrest-
ed was also charged with providing a false ID to an
officer.
DPS arrested 22 people for possession of marijuana
in the Diag area, and three people were cited for skate-
boarding on University property.
The AAPD issued 25 tickets for possession of mari-
juana, 215 traffic citations and 934 parking tickets.
In Ann Arbor, marijuana possession is a civil infrac-
tion punishable by a $25 ticket. According to state law,
which DPS enforces on campus, marijuana possession
is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail
and up to a $2,000 fine.
Attendees had mixed feelings about the nature and
effectiveness of the event.
"I'd say that a lot of people come here for the atmos-
phere ... but there's a lot of political activism going
on," Dan Sheil, an LSA sophomore, said. Sheil is a
member of the College Libertarians, who organized a
marijuana policy forum the night before and collected
donations for Hash Bash.
"There's definitely a large group dedicated to ending
the drug war," Sheil added.
A variety of speakers addressed the crowd of approx-
imately 4,000 attendees.
"We need to get together ... we need to legalize the
weed," said Doug Leinbach, the manager of Rainbow
Farm, where two men died in a standoff with Federal
Bureau of Investigation agents earlier this year.
See BASH, Page 7F
DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
Ann Arbor resident Ed Frazier objects to getting arrested by
seven Department of Public Safety officers for possession of
marijuana and said, "I have done nothing illegal." More than
50 people were arrested by the Ann Arbor Police Department
and DPS during the event in April.
tate Street underoes facelift
By Lisa Hoffman
Daily News Editor
Summer may be-over, but the sights and sounds of the season, including orange
roadblocks, yellow caution tape and the noises of construction, continue on cam-
pus and surrounding streets.
With more than 400 campus construction projects under way, University offi-
cials are attempting to assess which areas will experience the most congestion.
Long-term projects such as the closure of Rackham Auditorium and additions
to Mason and Haven Halls have substantially rerouted student traffic.
"Instead of doing all this at once they should have done this over years," said
LSA senior Matt Viaches. "Everything is a mess right now."
As the University tries to refurbish some of its most prominent buildings for
future generations of students, freshmen are finding they're not the only ones try-
ing to learn their way around campus.
"There's no way the projects can be totally non-disruptive to make the kinds of
changes, improvements and enhancements that everyone in the community wants
them to be," Facilities and Operations spokeswoman Diane Brown said.
Rom a "The people planning the projects have a lot of things to balance and hope to
dissipate as much of the congestion as possible."
The city of Ann Arbor offered "rewards" to finish its summer construction proj-
ects - such as reconstructing Packard Street - before the fall influx of students.
"We gave the contractors an incentive," city project engineer Alison Ferree said.
"They got a certain amount of money for early days; if not, they paid the city for
days past the finish date."
Smaller, on-campus projects, like lab renovations and roof projects also took
place last summer, and construction on the Palmer Drive Commons Building
began. City officials anticipate blocking Palmer Drive as construction continues in
the area.
Construction officials said the Mason/Haven Hall project, which includes an
eight-story addition, is on schedule for a November 2002 completion.
This spring, renovations began on Hill Auditorium, the next major building
project.
Renovations also took place last summer in East Quad Residence Hall and the
Modern Languages Building and continue in West Hall.
JESSICA YURASEK/Daily "We're doing a lot of infrastructure work," Brown said.
The peaceful boulevard of State Street before the massive overhaul See CONSTRUCTION, Page 7F
.On a mission to find the
C1 s best Zr e1
cits bst izza deliver
By Michael Grass
Weekend Food and Drink Critic
It was something that had to be done.
Sixteen pizza delivery establishments. Twelve empty stomachs. Four cell phones out and ready. One apartment. And a good
amount of beer.
At 7:10 p.m. on a night in January 2001, I, along with an adventurous group of colleagues from the Daily, set off on completing the
first ever "Ann Arbor Pizza Challenge." Our goal was simple: Sample pizzas from every single delivery establishment in town. Ignoring
common sense and the capacity of our stomachs, we were determined to do it and in retrospect, maybe, just maybe, we started a new
college tradition.
But:it's not as easy as it sounds.
"The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor Pizza Challenge" took a lot of planning and was subject to many arguments on how best to
operate and accomplish the endeavor. Vegans, the small-stomached and the lactose-intolerant need not try to replicate because
they will fail.
Only those with large, flexible stomachs, deep pockets and the guts to push the limits of common sense should attempt such a feat.
Here were our ground rules:
Every establishment located within
the city limits that had delivery to Cen-
tral Campus were called. The Big Three
- Pizza Hut, Little Caeser's and Domi-
no's - were exempt.
Participants had to be willing to pur-
chase at least one pizza.
Every order had to be a large pizza
and have at least one-half cheese. The
other half could be cheese as well, or a
topping of the buyer's choice. No deep-
dish.
No coupons or specials.
The buyer got the first slice. As the
"Challene" sunervisor. I had to samnle
Taking ratings and comments from
participants into account, along with cri-
teria like speed of delivery, courteousness
of delivery personnel, price and slice
size, our group would choose the win-
ners and bestow the honor of having the
best pizza delivery in town.
Admittedly, our plan was not fool-
proof. For instance, getting a plain
cheese pizia from Anthony's Gourmet
Pizza when they are known for their
excellent Chicago deep-dish was prob-
lematic.
Additionally, topping selection was
not uniform and that threw in another
obstacle in way of the scientific method.
lenge in our opinion. If a place has a ter-
rible cheese pizza, it's a good indication
that quality of toppings, crust, etc. are
equally as bad.
THE FIRST ROUND: MAYHEM
AND THEN JUDGEMENT
We decided to tackle the first four on
our alphabetical list: A Hello Faz
Pizza, Anthony's Gourmet Pizza,
Bella Napoli and Bell's. With cell
phones ready, four people called at the
same time. While it doesn't seem like a
big deal to order four pizzas, from four
different places, to one location, all with
BRENDEN O'DONNELL/Daily
Wherever there is hunger, the pizza delivery
guy will be there to appease your taste buds.
chaotic mess.
When the round of calls finished, the
orderers recorded estimated time of
arrival, what was ordered and price into
my notebook:
Faz: Half-cheese/half-mushroom, 35-
45 minutes, $9.95.
Bella Napoli: Cheese, 35-45 minutes,
$11.65.
Anthony's Gourmet Pizza: Half-
cheese, half-green pepper, 45-60 min-
utes, $12.95.
Bell's: Half-cheese, half-Hawaiian, 30
I
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