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h c h jan D a -WednesdayMarch 2 6, 2008
The 10 activists,
athletes, leaders
and organizers
who have left their
mark on campus
this year
The unremitting
activist
arlier this month, LSA
senior Aria Everts faced
a dilemma when she was
tapped to join the senior honor
society Order of Angell.
Everts questioned whether
she should join the group and
help implement reforms from
the inside out or turn down the
invitation because of the group's
secrecy.
She said her decision to
decline the invitation shows
how her outlook on reform has
changed since she came to the
University.
Before transferring to the
University from the Interna-
tional Academy of Design and
Technology in Chicago, Everts
thought she could change the
way the clothing industry does
business from the inside out.
Over the past three years,
Everts has been one of the most
consistently active and vis-
ible members of the labor rights
group Students Organizing for
Labor and Economic Equality.
SOLE has earned a reputation
on campus for it'soften extreme
demonstrations against the use
of sweatshops in the manufac-
turing of University-licensed
apparel. These include the
group's "I'd rather be naked"
protest and last year's sit-in at
University President Mary Sue
Coleman's office.
Looking back, Everts said
she was naive to think she could
change how business was done
from within a company.
"I really don't think it's pos-
sible to work within the sys-
tems we find ourselves in," she
said.
But for someone who is
still banned from the Fleming
Administration Building after
being led away from Coleman's
office in plastic handcuffs last
April, Everts has also spent
considerable time workingwith
the University administration
and other student groups.
She has served as a student
representative on Coleman's
Advisory Committee on Labor
Standards and Human Rights
and the Michigan Student
Assembly's Peace and Justice
Commission.
"Aria maintained a con-
sistently positive and open
approach, even when she did
not agree with the outcomes
of committee's processes," said
School of Social Work Prof.
Larry Root, who chaired the
advisory committee.
LSA junior Blase Kearney,
a fellow SOLE member, said
Everts has greatly improved.
SOLE's relationship with other
campus groups.
"They learn to associate
SOLE with Aria because she's
always out there," he said.
-KELLYFRASER
The subtle dignitary
SA senior Mohammad Dar's
term as Michigan Student
Assembly president came
to a close yesterday. With it ends
four dedicated years of MSA
service, culminating in a presi-
dency.
Yet, itwasn'tsupposedtohave
happened this way. Dar was
supposed to be the quiet, hard-
working vice president while
Zack Yost steered the reins of
the assembly as president. But
Yost stepped down in Decem-
ber after an offensive Facebook
group he had created was made
public. Dar was then handed the
reins.
LSA senior Nate Fink, who
filled the vacant MSA vice presi-
dency after Dar's ascension, said
Dar's hardworking presence
kept the assembly going in the
wake of Yost's departure. A lot
of people, he said, might have
quit trying and just waited for
the next elections: Not Dar.
"He's very dedicated and
hardworking - like - the hard-
est working person that I know
on the assembly," Fink said. "He
will be seen as someone who
helped to really move the assem-
bly forward.".
The tears shed at Yost's resig-
nation could certainly mark the
nadir of this year's assembly, but
the tears Dar shed at a rally for
more state funding for higher
education in Lansing were defi-
nitely the pinnacle. Dar was
one of primary organizers for
the rally that sought to keep
the Michigan state government
from reneging on nearly $150
million owed to universities
across the state - including
roughly $30 million to the Uni-
versity of Michigan.
Before the crowd, Dar stood
and delivered a speech about
his father's sacrifices to help
Dar get through school. Dar's
father died in 2006 from cancer
that Dar said would have likely
been treated sooner if his father
hadn't given up his health insur-
ance to pay for Dar's education.
Dar said the first 10 times he
practiced the speech he could
barely finish.
"I couldn't get through it
without crying every time," he
said.
After the rally, the state
ended up delivering the prom-
ised funds to the universities.
Around the same time, he
helped found - and was then
elected president of - the State-
wide Student Association, a col-
lection of Michigan's student
governments.
After last week's election, Dar
e-mailed all the independent
candidates who weren't elect-
ed, encouraging them to stay
involved. He cared. He actually
did what he set out to do. In a
world of politics and stagnation,
Dar quietly made his mark.
-DAVID MEKELBURG
The student veteran
ith all the talk about
making campus a
welcoming place for
people of all backgrounds, LSA
junior Derek Blumke noticed a
lack of support for one faction
of students.*
Before Blumke founded the
Student Veterans Association,
University students who trad-
ed in military drill manuals
for intro-level textbooks had
to deal with the jarring transi-
tion alone.
Blumke, a 27-year-old who
served in the Airforce until
2005, said that while attend-
ing a community college and
then the University his age and
military experience made it
difficult to feel comfortable on
campus.
"I told this one girl, just
talking in class, that I was in
the military," Blumke said.
"She looks at me, wide-eyed,
and says, 'You were in the mili-
tary? Why did you do that?'
It was beyond her scope of
understanding of why some-
one would actually go in the
military. A lot of people tend to
be like that. It's nothing offen-
sive but it sets you apart."
It was that feeling of isola-
tion that caused Blumke to
start SVA at the University as
well as spearhead the found-
ings of SVA chapters on 125
campuses nationwide.
Swamped with interviews
and state senate appearances,
it's a wonder Blumke has time
for his student role at all.
"As the Student Veterans
Association of America's presi-
dent, he is takingthe minimum
amount of credits to make sure
the national coalition is run-
ning," said Sam Kim, SVA pub-
lic affairs officer. "He sets his
priorities in a different per-
spective than a typical under-
graduate. He's very persistent
and if he believes in something
and wants to get it done, he
will go after'it."
While Blumke said joining
the fraternity Delta Kappa
Epsilon helped him feel more
accepted on campus, SVA pro-
vides support and friendship
to student veterans that other
student groups can't.
"When I was in the Airforce
I was a sergeant and I had a lot
of guys looking up to me, not
as a boss, but for advice about
life," he said. "I got a little bit
of that from being involved in
the fraternity. The fraternity
system is like a wannabe mili-
tary."
-MIKEDOLSEN
The 'Hot Dog Man'
t a home football game
last season, LSA senior
Jay Trzcinski found
himself on the lamb. After
switching shirts with a friend,
Trzcinski slipped into a seat
a few rows away from where
four ushers were staking out
his normal seats.
If they spotted him, he'd be
kicked out of Michigan Sta-
dium and fined. But Trzcinski,
or Hot Dog Man, just couldn't
resist throwing that one last
hot dog.
Trzcinski's brush with the
stadium law followed several
game half times during which
he made a name for himself as
Hot Dog Man by throwing hot
dogs into the student section.
Trzcinski's antics pumped up
the crowd, inspired a popular
T-shirt and proved once and
for all that when it comes to
the regents' ordinance against
throwing objects in the stands,
stadium security means busi-
ness.
"Most of (the ushers) were
really cool about it," Trzcinski
said. "But there's one guy, who
is the head usher for the stu-
dent section, he hates me with
a passion."
Trzcinski was removed after
throwing 10 hot dogs during
the Iowa game amid chants of
"let him stay" and "Hot Dog
Man," but he said the reaction
he has received from students
during games and on the town
kept him returning to his role.
Hot Dog Man, who tutors
younger physics students and
plans to work for Teach for
America after graduation,
is also something of a role
model.
"My students found out I
was Hot Dog Man and brought
in pictures of me doing it to
sign," he said. "They say their
claim to fame in the hall is that
their study group leader is Hot
Dog Man."
Trzcinski graduates this
spring, but that doesn't mean
Hot Dog Man won't live on.
"I'm hoping to come to at
least two or three games," he
said. "Hopefully, they won't be
looking for me next year."
-JESSICA VOSGERCHIAN
The humble captain
ith , each successive
home hockey game
this season, the pre-
game "Hobey Baker" chants
got louder and longer.
And by now, it's pretty obvi-
ous that LSA senior and Michi-
gan hockey captain Kevin
Porter is the frontrunner for
the award given annuallyto the
best player in college hockey.
But in typical fashion, Porter
talked first about a teammate
when asked about the atten-
tion surrounding the Hobey
Baker Award.
"(LSA senior) Chad
(Kolarik) says he gets a little
upset because it cuts into his
introduction, so I guess they
shouldn't do it anymore," Por-
ter laughed.
Kolarik was quick to retort.
"He gets all the praise all the
time," Kolarik joked. "That's
fine - that's great. I want it
that way. But you know, give
me a little glory once in awhile,
when my hometown's being
announced and my alternate
captain's being announced. No,
it's all in fun."
The two linemates and close
friends have fed off each other
all season, lighting up the
scoreboard and leading a young
team that is now the favorite
to win the national champi-
onship. Porter's 28 goals and
28 assists, the second-highest
point total in the nation, have
capped a four-year career that
has sealed his place as one of
the best players in Michigan
history.
Though most of Porter's play
this season has been stellar,
the game that sticks out most
to Michigan coach Red Beren-
son wasn't from this year.
The date of the game and
the Wolverines' opponent
were unimportant. All Beren-
son remembers is that Porter
scored three goals in three
minutes of ice time during the
first period.
But if you haven't seen him
play, you wouldn't be able to
tell that Porter is a showstop-
per. He's a quiet leader who
decided to come back for his
final college season even after
being courted by the NHL's
Phoenix Coyotes to join the
team after his junior year. LSA
junior and Michigan forward
Brandon Naurato said Porter
was "on the borderline," but
didn't talk about leaving the
Wolverines early.
"That's the thing - a lot of
guys might send hints that
they're going to leave," Nau-
rato said. "But he never talked
about leaving."
-COURTNEY
RATKOWIAK
STUDENTS OF THE YEAR
continued on PAGES 7B, 8B