0 U -4 Li Main Stays Cultured area hopes to attract more students ° hGod is real and he cares about people; he cares about you, so we do too. By Sarah Ziering | Daily Arts Writer - New Life Church website uality generally comes with a high price tag and for m any years, Main Street has projected a chic, pricey r image, sending people away to State Street for a more eco n oical night out. While serving as a draw for some, Main Sreet rumors of $12 dollar martinis have held students ad locals alike back from becoming area regulars. While sients have ventured to Rush Street, a newer Main Street tapas bar, for a more upscale night out, they have not yet real- ized the full potential of the area. In an attempt to shed its "parents only" image, Main Street has found fresh ways of attracting both a younger and a more diverse crowd. With this new tactic, Main Street businesses have created an informal, unstated coalition, each business doing its part to create a stylish yet approachable atmosphere that carries over from bars and music venues to shops and cafes. No longer just for special occasions or parent visits, students have come to Main Street for its unique nightlife, a refreshing replacement from the student bars that normally dominate the weekends. "Main Street is less dirty and less fratty," said LSA senior Becky Eisen. "It's not as average as State Street, and the res- taurants are a lot better." One such venue is Live at JP's, located just a block from Main on the corner of First and Huron. which offers live music, dancing and a no cover policy. It's student-friendly atmosphere and pricing fits students' tastes, but Live at if's has remained mostly untouched by a majority of the student body. Also part of Main Street's refreshed look is the comedy club Improm lrterno. which offers the only improv comedy in the area and involves the audience into its skits. Despite the unique approach to entertainment. Impro Inferno is yet another Main Street night spoi frequented mainly by an older crowd with rare attendncme by students. "One thing that drew us is the new comedy club, the Inferno said Ann Arbor resi- dent Eli.abeth Sieczka, "It's the only improv comedy around. but it was mostly people my age, like 20s and early 30s." Yet, there is an overall increase in student presence on Main Street even if it remains slight. "l'm surprised at how much intergenerational mixing there is these days." said Sieczka, "College students never used to go down to Main Street." Eisen has also taken notice of the rising stature of Main Street and is not deterred by the distance and higher prices. "My mom said Main Street used to be a dump. She was amazed at how different it is now. I go there one or two times a week now," she said. Dressing up Clothing stores in particular have taken notice of the lack of student presence on Main Street. In hopes of getting people to shop, play and stay on Main Street, stores are now welcoming shoppers until 9 p.m. on the weekends. Hoi Polloi, a clothing boutique that opened in April 2004, tries to woo shoppers not just with impeccable hand-picked pieces but with what own- ers Lisa and Ed Shedlock call "a shopping experience." With customers ranging from nine to 79 years old, the boutique tries to cater to anyone who walks through its doors, which translates into anything from putting together a formal out- fit for shoppers to supplying bored boyfriends with beer and football on the TV that sits on an antique table outside the dressing rooms. The plush atmosphere of the store presents an aura of elegance and funk at the same time, which echoes its clientele as well. "Unlike most stores, we offer a cross-generational selec- tion. We offer lines that start at $39 and at $300," said store manager Robin Reinhart. "Students are starting to wander in, and they are impressed with what they see," she added. So while the adventurous few have moved away from boutiques closer to campus, the store is relying on word of mouth, later hours and attentive service to draw in the rest. But will they come? Study spots One way in which students are making a presence on Main Street is in the daytime locations that serve as study locations more removed from the fight for study space on campus. On a weelend day, row of laptops and notebooks can be seen glowing from the windows of place like Sweetwaters C'af6. Servig the usually cafl fre. along with some more gourmet treas Sweetwaters attracts crowds at both of its Ann Arbor area locations, while maintaining a low-key atmosphere. The smaller crowds more parking (there's a parking lot across the street:. and long hours (open until midnight daily) have made the move from State Street easier for some students. While many Main Street venues are keeping longer hours and are varying prices to accommodate a younger crowd, the unique venues - such as Alley Bar on W. Liberty. which is a more casual version of The Brown Jug - have yet to attract the majority of students. Those that have ventured to Main Street have blended easily into the traditionally older scene an created a cross-generational atmosphere that Main Street strives for, but nonetheless have not secured the area as a des- tination for eating, shopping and entertainment. Still, Main Street businesses are still working- to accommodate every- body. "One thing we all have in common down here is we want to make (Main Street) a destination," Reinhart said. passage (Romans 8:31) into the present. He told many stories from his own life (the first time a girl told him she loved him was in the 10th grade) and he drew parallels with today's culture, comparing God's love to the Powerball lottery. His sermon demonstrated how New Life has managed to attract and maintain such a young crowd of followers: He brought the message of his favorite passage - that God is not judgmental - to within the reach of a student growing up in the 21st century. "The sermons are all really relevant to college students. (The pastors) speak normally and do not talk down to Church-goers," Milian said. In April 2002, New Life Church and Great Com- mission Ministries, the parent organization of New Life, bought the old Delta Zeta sorority house on Washtenaw Avenue. Despite initial resist tice from the Ann Arbor Planning Commission, they have transformed it into their headquarters. and, accord- ing to Milian and the website, construction is soon to be under way to build an auditorium in the acre of land behind it. When construction is complete, the Washtenaw auditorium will take wer the role that M13 now occupies as the congregation hall. A cOse-knit community New Life Church also seems to have recognized the overwheiming desire that students - especially those at such a large and impersonal university as this one - have searched for a leeper meaning to life than partying or getting straight As. It is more than just the rock band and the donuts available after Sunday's service that have amassed such a followin for New Life. The Church fosters a sense of community that is hard to come by for students who don't have their teammates or cast members to count as a community. Indeed, spending even one morning surrounded by New Life Christians is almost enough to convince an atheist to sign up. The environment is as close to being judgment- free as can exist on a college campus. And for prac- ticing Christians, many of which have grown up feeling ostracized because of their religiousness, New Life is very appealing, and extremely hard to resist. The Church organizes weekend-long retreats once a semester that Milian said are crucial to maintaining the community feel. "They make the Church seem smaller; it makes it easier to enjoy the community" when people are together for an entire weekend, she said. The sense of belonging that New Life Church members cherish not only exists between members. "God is real and he cares about people; he cares about you, so we do too," the website says. For a Christian, there is no greater comfort than God's acceptance. Yet New Life Church must work hard lest it lose its followers to the many temptations that come packaged with a college education. Joel Vander- Schel, a deacon with New Life Church, said that he and the pastors "try to be as relevant as we can to college students, to offer to them somewhere to turn with real-life issues." Life Groups The Life Groups, another service offered by the church, are another way that community is stressed. The Groups. which are held quietly each week all over campus, are examples of both the Church's attempt to connect with the younger generation and the younger generation's reciprocated commitment to New Life. Organized exclusively by student lead- ers (who go through a training process with New Life Church leaders). the groups have one main purpose, according to the website: to create and strengthen authentic relationships between fellow Christians. Or, put another way, the Life Groups "do life together." Each week, a pastor from the Church sends an e-mail to the various leaders, after which the group members meet to discuss their lives in terms of Jesus and the Bible. One Thursday night, the theme was the "team," and the accompanying passage from the Bible was Acts 13: 1-3. What is most remarkable about the Bible study groups is the intentional effort bring- ing the Scripture up to date, pulling it to within the reach of typical students who spend their days hearing slang and curse words, not formal, ancient EUGENE ROBERTSON/ Daily Improv Inferno, a comedy club on Main Street, currently caters to an older crowd rather than students . Gain real world FRESHMEN!. SOPHOMORES! nperiefloc at, Karen Ostafinski, a Residential College alum, s plays catchy rock songs for its listeners. BUILD YOUR F- Cedbr 0~ - - -Fee :.._._... rr JUNIORS! HESUME!! 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