0 ...wV qw w a v w w ! 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.