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I 12B The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 31, 2007
A farewell to Anberay
n a move that sounds more like a scene
from science fiction than reality, the Chi-
cago real-estate company Zaragon Inc.
bought and has recently demolished Melrose
Place, the apartment complex near EastQuad
on East University Avenue, to make way for a
10-story high-rise. I lived in Melrose Place
- also known as the Castle at Anberay - for
the last two years of its 84-year existence,
and I was at least marginally proud to call it
home.
When I used to tell people that I lived
there, I would get one of two reactions.
People would either give a delighted smirk,
recalling their own Melrose experiences, or
they would look at me in horror, as if I just
told them I lived on the 13th floor of the
Tower of Terror.
Criticisms aside, Melrose Place had an
ideal location, which made it easier to justify
paying more than $600 per month in rent.
Wedged between Za's and Red Hot Lovers
and only a minute walk to the Diag, I could
get everything from alate-night Diet Coke to
a last-minute Blue Book without havingto go
50 feet from my apartment. It was the per-
fect antidote to living in Bursley, my faraway
one-time home. Bursley was a mistake my
roommates and I were desperate to make up
for in our future housing decisions.
Melrose Place ranked higher in location
than it did in aesthetic appearance. It dis-
played the worst of 1920s architecture with
its faded yellow brick fagade and third-
world courtyard. It is perhaps too gener-
ous to even call the open space a courtyard,
considering it boasted only one tree, a few
struggling bushes, a dingy bike rack and
Remembering the
tattered but storied
former East U.
apartment complex
discarded beer cans.'My apartment had a
balcony overlooking the sorry green space,
except the only view I ever got was straight
into our cross-courtyard neighbor's living
room.
Aside from touting the location and the
courtyard oasis, the ad for the apartment
enthusiastically promised "art deco" decor.
Originally imagining floor to ceiling mir-
rors, a furry carpet and a gaudy chandelier,
upon touring the place I realized "art deco"
was only code for confusing color schemes
and inconvenient floor layout. Three of the
living room walls were painted an other-
worldly shade of salmon orange, while the
fourth wall gleamed in a dark shade of plum.
Fortunately, the apartment came furnished.
It was complete with a coffee table, bar table
and chairs, beds, desks, dressers and a black
leather couch - a relic from what I assumed
were my landlord's old pimp days. The best
feature was the bathroom, which had a toilet
that could possibly set the Guinness World
Record for longest flush. My roommates and
I timed it once and it was at least 15 seconds,
depending on the force used.
Right next to the bathroom was my room,
which faced out onto the back garbage alley-
way next to Red Hot Lovers. In the fall and
spring, I would wake up to the smell of hot
dogs if I left my window open. In the winter,
when leaving the window open was no lon-
ger an option, unpredictable central heating
meant my room was either 25 or 95 degrees.
I assume that this was my fault - I never
learned how to work the heater properly, but
I prefer to blame the pipes.
Along with an awkward floor plan, Mel-
rose Place gave my roommates and I our fair
share of bad luck. That apartment got us our
first noise violation and our first glimpse
into attempted breaking and entering (even
though the drunken perpetrator didn't get
any farther than smashing our kitchen win-
dow). One night, bums held a meeting of the
Homeless Society in our stairwell. We awoke
to the dulcet tones of one set of neighbors
singing "Man in the Mirror" at 1 a.m. on a
Monday, and another set who let their dog
bark through the night.
Although Melrose Place had its fair share
of problems, I still get nostalgic and oddly
sad walking along East University Avenue,
where an empty pit is all that's left of my for-
mer home.
Every last yellow brick has been crushed,
and only the long neck of a crane stands in
place of the old courtyard tree. Two years of
memories have been knocked down to the
ground, and Zaragon Inc. will soon be pav-
ing over them.
Melrose Place had its faults, but looking
back, it meant more to me than just any old
ex-art deco apartment complex. It was my
first taste of authentic, off-campus freedom.
I felt like an adult living in that apartment,
and while I'm sort of sad to see it go, part
of me is glad that I was the last one to ever
live in it. I can't imagine that anyone else
would actually get accustomed to purple and
orange walls.
-Rachel Wagner is an assistant
editorial page editor
Cont'd: The lowest moments in the history of the University
'U' HISTORY From page 7B
were often dissuaded from pursuing gradu-
ate degrees in particular disciplines.
After these findings were published, the
government demanded that the Univer-
sity create an affirmative action program to
ensure that it was complying with federal
guidelines on hiring minorities and women.
One year later, there was another stir over
sexist institutional tendencies. Prior to every
home football game, the Athletic Depart-
ment would host a dinner party for visiting
press members and coaches. Guests from the
University included regents, vice presidents
and the Daily's senior sports editors.
That is, unless they were women.
The department maintained that because
the "smokers" - as these gatherings were
known - were private parties, refusing tolet
women attend didn't constitute discrimina-
tion.
The Daily reported that William Mazer,
president of the "M" Graduate Club, said his
club had unanimously decided to bar women
from attending.
"We don't invite women for their own pro-
tection," he said. "When a group of men get
together and drink, the language gets a bit
rough. Women should feel honored not tobe
invited."
Gaining equal treatment in the Athletic
Department wasn't the only challenge for
female University students at the time,
though. The Michigan Union was originally
an all-male building, and though the con-
struction of the Michigan League in 1929 asa
meeting place for women was a marginal step
forward, women weren't allowed through
the front door of the Union until 1956 - an
inexcusably late date by any measure.
Also in the '50s, women had to contend
with curfews, dress codes and broad Univer-
sity oversight into their personal lives. Then-
Dean of Women Deborah Bacon was ousted
in 1961, largely because she had a habit of
doling out harsh punishment if she detected
interracial dating. To the University's credit,
when she left, she was never replaced.
The University has a spotted record of
promoting racial equality, too. Although a
commitment to diversity on campus is now
arguably one of the school's biggest achieve-
ments, it wasn't always that way.
In the late 1920s under then-University
President C.C. Little - a life-long eugenicist
- several campus institutions, like swim-
ming pools, were segregated. In 1928, the
University actually sought to create segre-
gated off-campus student housing for black
women. The venture was thwarted by pro-
testers, and the University's outlook on race
continued to progress, though there were
more hang-ups along the way.
In the 1940s and '50s, the Daily conducted
investigations that exposed astrain of racism
plaguing the University. One story noted that
many talented and qualified black people
were not able to secure teaching positions
due to race. When asked why no black per-
The University has
weathered segregation,
sexism, crackdowns on
activism and the Halo.
son had been offered a teaching job, faculty
members suggested two reasons: concern
about students' responses and the widely
held belief that higher-ups at the University
would never sanction a black person.
At the beginning of fraternity rush week in
1954, evidence of racism on campus abound-
ed. Thirteen fraternities had constitutions
containing clauses that prevented people of
specified races or religions fromrushing. The
Daily printed the names of these fraterni-
ties. Alpha Tau Omega, for example, banned
blacks. Phi Delta Theta accepted only white
Christians. Lambda Chi Alpha prohibited
Jews and non-caucasians.
Things improved only marginally over the
next few decades. Throughout the 1970s, the
University was engaged in discussion with
members of the Black Action Movement, who
were fighting to get black enrollment up to 10
percent from 3 percent by 1973. That didn't
happen, and BAM-organized strikes ensued.
In the late '80s, the words of an LSA
sophomore indicated that, in many ways, the
situation for blacks on campus was still far
from ideal. On his radio show, the student
employed a number of sexist and racist jokes,
ostensibly to win over his fans. Needless to.
say, it didn't go over too well. The student
was promptly fired.
The University still faces an uphill battle
with the issue of diversity - especially given
the passage of Proposal 2 last November,
which effectively banned affirmative action.
The University's response to this and other
challenges truly will determine how close it
will come to living up to its mighty ideals.