-.e-- -1. 0 Protecting Junior ome parents are just abso- lutely crazy," LSA alum Jeff Souva said. "And some are totally fine." Souva, a short, smiley guy with a genial voice who had been a part of almost every gay organization on campus, remembered his experience working for University Housing while coordinating summer orientation and working in campus outreach. "Parents would call up and would just be so freaked by the fact when their stu- dents had gay roommates," he said. "We would hear so much about Stockwell and the all-female residence halls." But this was among many complaints: roommates being too liberal, having too many piercings or even too many signs on the door. This is not terribly common, but it is a regular occurrence. Occasionally, par- ents or their children write in the mar- gins of the housing application that they do not want a gay roommate (University Housing gets all sorts of requests.). Now that applications are online, University Housing will occasionally get calls or e-mails for these requests. They are obviously not honored, said spokesman Alan Levy. "It's not frequent, but it's occasional. And it's often with intensity," Levy said. The only way to get around the situa- tion is to choose a specific roommate in advance, which 20 percent of all appli- cants do. Sampson said students generally coming to campus are more aware of gay and lesbian issues than in previous years. In the first few weeks of school, the people who need the most educating are the parents. "Especially this past semester, it's parents," Sampson said. "There's a lot of questions and a paranoia, an uncer- tainty about 'what does this mean,' " he said. __ _ . . ...... . i What other schools do hree years ago, a couple of students at the Univer- sity of Iowa approached Rob Latham, an associ- ate professor of English, American studies and sexuality studies, with an idea. The students were concerned about some isolated incidents in the residence halls where gay students felt targeted and stigmatized.. They asked the university to create "safe space" for students "interested in sexuality studies," a certificate program at the school. Without little difficulty, the students got what they wanted. The university created a living-learning community for 18 to 21 gay students and their allies. It planned to have guest speakers, film series and various social events for stu- dents. Few people - only three or four - applied. The program was supposed to start this year. What happened? Latham said the problem was that the university didn't open the program up to freshman, who overwhelmingly populate the schools' residence halls. "We imagined that many of the stu- dents would be in the program, but they didn't have to," said Latham, who was set to run the program. A slew of gay-focused housing options have sprouted up over the past few years, mostly at school on the East and West Coasts. The programs are very diverse, ranging from hallways specifically tailored to gays and lesbi- ans to programs for students interested in social justice. Tufts University's pro- gram is called "The Rainbow House" and offers a "gay-friendly" environ- ment. The universities of Maine, Mas- sachusetts and Oregon have also tried such programs. These programs have met with mixed reviews and mixed success. Some stu- dents have written in campus newspa- pers calling it "segregation," while other schools have tried and failed. Two years ago, for example, Wes- leyin University created a "gender neu- tral" wing of a residence hall. But most of those who applied for the hall were simply interested in gender issues, and the school realized it "inadvertently had segregated those people from the rest of the community," said Justin Harmon, Wesleyan's communications director. "These were a group of students that were not benefiting from that diversity," Harmon said. But at the University of Maine, the program has been quite successful. The Social Equity Community at the school comprises one floor in one of the school's residence halls. The program was start- ed by Wilde Stein - the school's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender group - and it explores issues from immigra- tion to nondiscrimination policies. "I don't think that we're segregating in that there's no forced choice in this. It's an option," said AnneMarie Reed, associate director for residence life and programs at the University of Maine. Gay students here are mixed about gen- der neutral and identity-based housing. Yeah, that's co It's Over Your Head | By Austin Dingwall litt C Architecture Column £,Oo 1,C I fitting on a concrete bench in front of Burton Memorial Tower while gazing toward the Mod- ern Languages Building can take you back in time. Unattractive, ugly and outdated, the building is like opening a photo album of when you were an infant sitting on your parent's bell- bottomed lap amidst an olive-green shag carpet and orange-yellow walls. We may think, "Man, what were my parents thinking with that decor? That's downright hideous. I guess that was the style back then." The MLB's style is a thing of the past, and contemporary architecture has a new agenda. While yesterday's designs placed the importance of style below a building's form and function, today's architects are taking another look at how their buildings look. As a highly ranked university, we pride ourselves on a rich academic tradition and solid athletic program, but in the end, we still just want to be cool. Try to define cool in words and come up short. "Those shoes are cool. I like those." Why? "I don't know, man. They're just cool." It is an intangible but unmistakable phenom- enon, and that is exactly the point. Yet cool architecture is not simply a passing fad, it is about how we expe- rience the inside of buildings. In the age where the most pressing issue is what's hot and what's not, the Uni- versity is about to get a flavor of cool architecture courtesy of Brad Cloep- fil and Allied Works Architecture. Like many contemporary build- ings embracing the essence of cool, the University of Michigan Museum of Art expansion is all about expe- rience. There is no mimicking of historic style, there is no political commentary. The building as a state- ment, the critical interpretations, the cultural implications - these issues have wrought building style for too long, and many architects want to move past that. In the words of Clo- epfil, "The expansion will serve as a catalyst for new activities and expe- riences, where the boundaries of art, life and landscape merge to become one." No stranger to the art world, Clo- epfil began his practice interested in landscape art. That focus is readily seen in his acclaimed Maryhill Over- look project - a rectilinear, concrete ribbon capturing both views' and volumes of space along a vast coun- tryside. Because his designs are so attentive to atmosphere by rigorously defining materiality, detail and craft, Cloepfil's structures can both respect- fully house art and also become art in SHUBRA OHRI/Daily Renovations on the University of Michigan Museum of Art are scheduled to begin in 2006. Healthy, male subjects, ages 25-64 needed to participate in a randomized medication study of Viagra and Levitra. The study involves multiple visits and medication will be provided. Participants will be paid. For more information call the Urology Research Office @ 734-936-9267 or e-mail pak@umich.edu. (IRB Archive #2004- 1000) its own right. His firm, Allied Works Architecture, has also designed the Museum of Contemporary Arts and Design in New York, the new Con- temporary Art Museum in St. Louis and an expansion for Seattle Art Museum. Already, his design for the expansion of the UMMA has won a design award from AlA's New York chapter. Clearly, many have seen his design that will become State Street's entrance to the diag and have said, "That's cool." The expansion will extend the museum's north side and will face State Street as a neighbor to Angell Hall. Crisp, white walls guide the interior. Glass provides a visual transparency between within and without while giving a sense of openness and light. The sun filters through the ceiling to provide radi- ant illumination from above while still protecting the art from harmful UV rays. Equal attention is given to the external experience, shaping a court that both directs and invites. And at night, the building's translu- cent design will glow for those who pass by. Focusing on beautiful spaces rather than pure structural form, the expansion easily bridges historic and contemporary style. Yes, we can say that the building's function will be satisfied with an elegant design, and true, we can declare that the form will respect the surrounding univer- sity structures. Both these elements enrich the design, but its style is just as important. As one of the last buildings to be erected on the campus's original 40 acres, it is important that the muse- um expansion reflects this emerging architectural style. The strength of the University's built landscape lies within its varied form. We have the historic buildings covered with ivy and those anchored with fluted columns. A design like the one for the expansion will only add to the rich repertoire of architecture on campus, but more importantly we will experience the building thinking, "This is pretty cool." Austin thinks all art is cool. He can be reached at adingwal@umich.edu. 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