8F - The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - Fall 2003 m 3kt w av rites Local traditions that just keep going and going and going Hash Bash continues to draw the crowds One arrested for marijuana possession, three cited for youth tobacco misdemeanors at frigid Hash Bash festival By Elizabeth Anderson Daily News Reporter Hash Bash, the annual Ann Arbor rally to support the legalization of marijuana, was in full force April 5, drawing a crowd that event organ- izers estimated reached 3,000 to 4,000 people. Carrying signs declaring "Hemp for Peace" and "Smoke pot not Iraq," community members, University students and out-of-town partic- ipants protested both the war on drugs and the war on Iraq at the 32nd annual event. Traditional festivities included the rally at noon on the Diag and an after-party on Monroe Street. Some participants wore necklaces of plastic hemp leaves, while oth- ers dressed up in costumes - including a self-proclaimed "Jointmann." "A lot of people dress up because they like the anonymity," said event organizer Adam Brook. Brook, who also served as the master of ceremonies for the event, said Hash Bash was well attended despite the cold weather and snow, although he said warmer temperatures would have drawn a larger crowd. "The University can try to stop us, the city can try to stop us, the feder- al government can try to stop us, the state can try to stop us, but nobody screws us like Mother Nature," Brook, an Ann Arbor resident, said. This year's event also saw a low number of arrests for possession of marijuana, which Brook said was unlike previous years. "We've taken extraordinary steps to prevent arrests," he said. "We get the crowd to sit down (on the Diag) and then the cops can't get by because there's a wall of people, which is good because there were hundreds and hundreds of people smoking pot," he added. Department of Public Safety Sgt. Stacy Richmond said only one participant was arrested for possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor that could include penalties of one year in jail or a $2,000 fine under state law. Additionally, DPS cited three participants for youth tobacco misde- meanors and two vendors for violating city solicitation ordinances. A youth tobacco violation is "like a ticket," Richmond said. "They could get 90 days in jail, but it usually turns out to be a fine." Richmond added that the vendors were each fined $50 and ticketed, but declined to say what they were selling. Ann Arbor Police Department Sgt. Laura Anderson said the AAPD did not arrest or cite anyone as a result of Hash Bash. All arrests and citations took place on the Diag. Brook said he was displeased that anti-war protesters met on the Diag at the same time, and was disappointed that anti-war activists never support the Hash Bash efforts. "There's been a war on drugs for longer than a war on terrorism or a war on Saddam (Hussein)," he said. Brook expressed pride in the force and attendance of Hash Bash. "This is the largest rally on campus," he said. A DPS officer asks "Jointmann" about his smoking cranium near the Diag at Hash Bash. Officials take hands-off approach to Naked Mile By Maria Sprow Daily News Reporter Naked Miles of times past brought students a slew of warnings - in the form of advertisements, promises to arrest runners and warnings that national media outlets planned to photograph the event - from the University and local police enforcement agencies: But this year, officials are taking a new preventative approach - ignore it, and it may just go away. Unlike in previous years, when then-University Pres- ident Lee Bollinger sent the University community e- mails asking students not to run, students will not receive any form of communication prior to the event from President Mary Sue Coleman, University spokes- woman Julie Peterson said. In addition, University-sponsored ads which previ- ously ran in The Michigan Daily giving students rea- sons not to run - including the event's illegality, the danger of sexual assault and the potential for embar- rassment for both runners and the University itself - were not printed this year. Peterson said the University's changed approach to the Naked Mile is the result of two years of "very little participation" and conversations with various student groups. The conversations indicated that students understood the dangers and consequences of running, she added. "Those efforts to educate and warn students were very effective. From several hundred runners a few years ago, we were down to about 50 in 2001 and less than a dozen, all clothed in underwear, in 2002. It's our view that students have gotten the message and under- stand the dangers of running," Peterson said. "We did not believe the same level of public education was nec- essary this year." "We felt the time had come to let the Naked Mile end on its own," she added. Officers from both the Department of Public Safety and the Ann Arbor Police Department said they believe the Naked Mile has run its course. Although both departments said they will increase enforcement on campus, they also said they are not expecting any sig- nificant problems. "We feel we are prepared for any type of contingency that will happen," DPS Lt. Joe Piersante said. "We don't have any indication that there are going to be problems, but we are prepared for just about anything that could happen." AAPD Sgt. Craig Flocken said that while the AAPD will be increasing enforcement, the number of officers seen around the South University Avenue area would not equal the numbers seen during recent years. "We're not expecting anything to happen tomorrow night. There is no mass deployment that is going to occur," Flocken said. "Obviously, the run has declined in the last couple years. ... I don't think they are plan- ning on as many officers as before, but there will be officers out there." Flocken said students who do disrobe may be arrested for disorderly conduct and indecent exposure, which is punishable by up to one year in prison and a $500 fine. According to the Michigan Sex Offender Public Reg- istry Act, those who have been convicted of indecent exposure three times must register as a sex offender. Flocken added that last year, AAPD chose not to cite any students who ran in their underwear or covered themselves in some other fashion. Ordinarily, the Naked Mile, which traditionally occurs on the last day of classes every winter semester, would start after dark at the Rock, go north on Washte- naw Avenue and west on South University until stu- dents reach the Cube near the Michigan Union. According to DPS estimates, last year's Naked Mile drew approximately 4,000 viewers and a few dozen runners, the vast majority of whom were partly clothed. Two University students and an Ann Arbor resident were arrested for indecent exposure, while DPS cited 10 others for separate offenses. Officers from the Washtenaw County Sheriffs Department and the Northfield Township Police Department assisted DPS and AAPD. This year, the Weather Channel predicts very cold weather, even a chance of snow in the forcast. The night's low is expected to be 30 degrees. This could deter some runners from baring all. 1 FILE PHOT In 1998, participants in the Naked Mile, one of Michigan's most infamous traditions, numbered In the hundreds. In 2003, the total dwindled down to the teens. d All's fair in A-square(d) By Maria Sprow Daily News Reporter Growing up, local artist Graceann Warn never dreamed she'd be one of the 1,200 exhibitors in the four Ann Arbor Art Fairs, let alone one of the 200 showcased in the Ann Arbor Street Fair, commonly ranked the best outdoor art fair in the nation by Sunshine Artist Magazine and the National Association of Indepen- dent Artists. "I've always made art, Ann Arbor S it just never occurred to me that I could make a Executive Di living at it when I was a kid. Now I do this full Shary Brown time - more than full anywhere fro time," Warn said. The former landscape to 700,000 pc architect student, who' has been showcasing her come to the three-dimensional mixed in 2002 from media work at the StreetA Fair for the last 15 years, Arbor and ar said participating in the country. fair is "irresistible." "It's local, and I get to see a lot of my customers face to face, ular with artists because of "the quality of the audience. It's a very curious and knowl- edgable audience." Visitors will be perusing not only the Street Fair, which began in 1960 and is the oldest of the Ann Arbor fairs, but also the Summer Art Fair in the Main Street area, the Art Fair Village on Church Street and the State Street Art Fair. They can also listen to various bands and 4 treet Fair rector 1 said )m 500,000 eople will Street Fair Ann ound the may forget to watch musical and theatrical artists perform on the streets. There are comedic jugglers, a boogie-woogie pianist, fiddlers and improv- isational specialists. "The four art fairs close down 28 blocks of campus and the downtown area, Brown said. "People who try to see the whole fair in one day need to take care of themselves," she cautioned. 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