48 - The Michigan Daily - Weekend Magazine - Thursday, October 16, 2003
The Michigan Daily - Weekend Nagzine -
Studei
in ..the
By Niamh Slevin
Daily Arts Writer
T he title "student ghetto" is
certainly not unknown in this
town. Mention it to any par-
tygoer, and you'll notice much the
same response. First, there will be
the nervous laughter, then unsure
glances to nearby friends and
occasional faces turning a nice
shade of red. The reputation of
the student ghetto precedes
Greenwood Avenue everywhere
on campus.
Greenwood, the area now crowned the "stu-
dent ghetto," obviously has its share of prob-
lems. Like most other areas on campus, the rent
is too high, parking is a royal pain and the trash
situation is not always desirable. Yet,
Greenwood's community character and party-
time atmosphere have only added to its steady
rise in popularity in the last few years.
According to Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje,
Greenwood has long been known as the student
ghetto. At one point, streets such as Catherine
and Huron were the unpleasant neighborhoods
on campus. The mayor, a former realtor raised in
Ann Arbor, remarked that Greenwood has been
referred to as the student ghetto for as long as he
can remember, and it was usually for many of
the same reasons. "That's what it's called, and
it's part of being in a university town," he says.
While the title has lingered for decades in this
specific area, so have the problems. Even Judy
Paron, a property manager for Oppenheimer
Properties on Greenwood, noted that parking
and trash can be very troublesome on some days.
The majority of the parking spaces are located in
the street only, which can interrupt city street
cleanings if the cars are not moved.
Hieftje sees a slightly different problem with
this setup. If the streets cannot be cleaned, the
trash can actually build up over the street storm
drains. These storm drains lead into a sewer
which eventually dumps its contents into the
river, right around Gallup Park. Storm water col-
lects the run-off from the surrounding neighbor-
hood and is not filtered in any way before enter-
ing the river.
"So if someone is canoeing out there and sees
trash, well, that trash may have started over on
Greenwood," Hieftje noted, "If you have an envi-
ronmental bone in your body, you don't want
trash floating around in the river."
Hieftje continued to say, "I've been in places a
couple of years ago where there were six inches
of trash strewn across the yard ... the students
who live there, they're the ones who are hurt the
most by that. They have to wade through it and
go by it every day."
ME
I
Why is Lizzie on Hilary's album cover?
Bi LLmAR
rOr 10
1. Chicken and Beer,
Ludacris - Rappers from
Atlanta are so hot right now. A
dancing baby Ludacris with a
beard is lust too freaky.
2. SpeakerboxxxlThe Love
Below, OutKast - Roses smell
like boo boo. I'm not sure what
that means, but Andre says it, so
think about it.
3. Elvis 2nd to None, Elvis
Presley - Actually, Elvis you are
2nd to OutKast and 3rd to Luda.
But you're still the King.
4. Life for Rent, Dido - Is
this like a mail-order bride? Do
you get to be Dido for a day?
S. Some Devil, Dave
Matthews - Even without his
band Dave Matthews rocks out,
that is to say as much as he ever
rocked out, which is none.
6. Sacred Love, S6n - Sting's
greatest work had nothing to do
with love, sacred or otherwise, but
rather with the original "Dune."
7. Too Hot forTV., Da Band
- More like Da Bad. Could they
have come up with a worse name
for their group ... nope.
8. The R. in R&B Collection
Vol. 1, R. Kelly - Way to capi-
talize on the whole "Kill Bill: Vol.
1" thing, R. Clever
9. Metamorphosis, Hilary
Duff -Dear Hilary, I've noticed
that you look a lot like Lizzie
McGuire. Do people say that to
you often? Are you two related?
10. The Long Rood,
Niddebadc - What they don't
know is that their "long road" leads,
to Hades. Muhaha.
WEEKEND ENTERTAINMENT
TODD WEISER - WAITING FOR ORT A
THAT OLD SOOTHSAYER SLY STALLONE
.:this (sert any md90s $talkne movie here) our 2003 world that lends credence to all other elements of
Yspred downfadl3 SylvesterSta11one starred im a little Brambil a 2032 reality
sc-iaction flick named MDemolitiwi Man"r opposite "artan; "Hold it! The &chwarzeneggertLibtwy?'
aDennis d We aistyngWey~ Snipes grid ahent Nuxkey: "'Yes the &hwanenegger PrsidentiaI Li/ny
iinkaowt (but always untalet4) Sandra Buh4$& Ctc sn<iYhe a cor"
dismissed it as mnindkss inless gnd mindless. Spaa "&to!11 Hed Prsdet
Noo te1t Anniversary of that fjJm' redeast (actu-. rlv . Even ehough he wasnot to&A 2nhisi coun
altrelease date: Oct. &b, 1993>,the genius of this picture cat try is popukarity at teeine.~ csdthe Stxtyrflns st'
fruty be realized. While ciics have Mated fihms llke "2001: Amenent
A Space Odssy an taa as hoet ntliet ou th pice together.sthCalifornia goeer-elect
flits Pf a ftm'a us hums's may one day cocounrer the will be our president on day . Ba.k in.1993, "Demolition
view&ing pubic now recognizes thanks to the recent recall Man" said so. So it must be true. It really isn't tat absur4
electii of Governator Arnold hwazegge, tAMr...w..re..n.y34amendment awayfm tbeinglegayviable.
rambil's opus "Denotion Ma" is he true p tAnd now that the brilianeii icla
tot ofta wol w i ne day calhm oeeyn,.e nlz h te 2032 truths we will hold
Bablais a mater fimae,'w loko fr h.sself.evident There.wil be. no booze, no cigt, no ma
only other wo pr.je s in the past decade- the Oscar.win no human contactand asi.i-.r... ......are illegal
ning tExeess Baggage" (well, it didn't realty win the and wrongdoers are immediately issued a fine. This is your
Academy Award fBenicio dePlT' (scarwifr " Traffi.c" faturte America, mrace it and bow dawn to the 20th cen-
was just a make-up) and th AB'm-sre "D$tpa" r' ostradanms.Marco Bmbilla
which is equaled onry b& Alex Haley's "Rhots anthe cul- .Also, 20th century coinmercie. nle ilb teTp4
r~
tural-awareness scale. In " Demolitin Man," Brailla did riis Th. t. this actuality is evencearer in 203
not surround his crystal-.ball predictions with the same pro- thaan 1993, as popular..a...as ee essentially boiled down
tentious "Tm so smarf" heir of KubrieCs "200f," instead he to the simple market rules of sapp.yand deand. Bands and
hid hIs genius behind the coating of ~a run-of-the-mrill artists are no longer mnusicians, but products to be sold. If
d.stroy-everything-that-oves action comdy that's the as, then why even hide the tre nature of popular
Let's ake a look back at the subversive series of events radio? Just...r.......es for actualprdcs, from the
that drive the plot: As the tagline proclaims in a daring jab at Coors Light "Winga tune o th.Chia Per theme.
chronological actuality, Simon xSipeis h2st...: 32, Tco Bell will be the sole survivor of the
century's most ruthless crminal and John Spartan (Stallone) Franchise Wars. As cloaked in secrecy as the Clone Wars of
is the 21st century's most dangerous cop. In 1996 Los h rWars"trilogy, one expains the actual events
Angeles, Spartan finally gets a conviction on Phoenix, send- involved in the epic battles.be.ee..a... ell McDonalds,
ing him into the all-new punishment of suspendedaima- Beunigans, ShbnigansC esandsoonandsoforth,
in, but Spartan i also sent to this land of the cryogeica-but.Taco.B......msoutrtop. S asan xaiz-
ly frozen for a crime he did not commit. zas for breakfast, lunchandd r.actually comes as
Cut to 2032 and the paroling a .Phoenix it. he crie great news to Ann Aibor residents, as we sit here amid a
free society of a newly-named San Angeles (get it?) mega-.local war between Wendy's andJi r ey John's.
lopolis. With the blonde-haired Phoenix ..s..g.hi ..r.pie fl frty left undefined is John
flames on the city, Spartan is calledupon to onceagain save Spartan's 2032 kryptonite: the three seashells it appears that
the day However, not only does the plot force $partae td-d.sto ............it Cosarnc fth past, with these beach dl-
battle with the ferocious Phoenix, but he s aly siv e ..n rngas th cleaneruppers fri our toiler encounters.
the very different world of 2032. Culture shock at its best. I for one am unaratid of 2032 and its foreign truths. I
Brilliant, Mr Brampbilla. Just brilliant . look...owd to..i.*s--President Schwarzenegger's
Spartan is assigned a partner named Huxley (Bullock) "I'll be backi fou-n ore years speeih and b must live to
who smoothly educates partan on the Big Brother-like thedaht.T understand just how those damn three
realm into which he has a wkei. During a seemingly tur- sease9s realaly do ioh.
dtum patrol, the pair walks past a muricpal building. And it he-siMplweerings. sir Whtwsosrlliad e? Todd can be
is the se atinsobvuofheaminr hdutoisbe sold.Idf
CURTIS HILLER/Daily
Papers aren't the only things that clutter up Greenwood Ave.
Though the trash and congestion are the major
concerns with the Greenwood area, there are
other social obstacles as well. The Greenwood of
the past was a fantastic party environment, but
now, it is also home to several young families
and retired citizens. Such parties can create a
great disturbance for families with young chil-
dren trying to sleep, and the partiers are faced
with noise violations as a result.
Despite the presence of problems in the neigh- F
borhood, the Greenwood community is vastly
improving and becoming quite popular with stu-
dent tenants. A city program called Clean i
Communities seeks to fix any trash issues that
may arise in the area. If the trash situation gets
out of hand, anyone can contact the city and ask
that it be cleaned up.
The city then tags the particular house in
question and allows 24 hours for an improve-
ment. If nothing is done within 24 hours, the city
sends a garbage truck and some workers out to
clean it up themselves, but the owner of the
house is then billed for any work done.
But the neighborhood community is becoming
more respectful of its inhabitants too. Although
the area is known for its parties, the tenants
understand that families also live there, and they
recognize others' community needs. Hieftje
commends the residents, saying, "There's a
growing awareness that there are families inter-
spersed in that neighborhood ... people who O9
have a right to quiet enjoyment of their life. So I
think there is a growing awareness, which a
encourages me."
While non-tenant students enjoy the party
scene as well, they also view Greenwood as a
rather close-knit community setting. With the
NEWS IN ENTERTAINMENT
HOT OR NOT
Who knew books could be so
fun? Vol. 1 - Drugs, gambling and
selling a best friend's house and keep-
ing all the money can now be added
to the list of things, including fatwas,
associated with Booker Prize win-
ners. Reuters reports that the newest
Booker winner, Peter Finlay, who
writes under the pseudonym DBC
Pierre, hopes to pay back his debt to
society. After winning the $82,930
prize on Tuesday, Finlay pledged the
funds to his creditors.
Finlay won the prize for his debut
novel, "Vernon God Little," a darkly
comic novel set in Texas about a boy
who finds himself in deep trouble after
becoming embroiled in the aftermath of
a high school massacre.
The administrators of the Booker
stressed that the quality of the book and
not the author's past determined the
choice for the award, since including
gamblers, drug addicts and thiefs in the
list of literary greats would work as a
publicity ploy only in America.
Who knew books could be so fun?
Vol. 2 - This week, according to
Associated Press, the U.S. Postal
Service will be releasing a new stamp
commemorating Theodor Geisel, the
author who created Dr. Seuss. Geisel's
widow will unveil the stamp on Oct. 27
at the Dr. Seuss National Memorial
Sculpture Garden in Springfield, Ill.
The 37-cent postage stamp will
feature a color photograph of the
author of "The Cat in the Hat" sur-
rounded by illustrations of six charac-
ters from his books.
However, it will still cost over $2 to
send one of Geisel's books through the
mail. Sorry kids.
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