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Tuesday, April 15, 2008

enioryear is ayear of"last times." With
graduation in sight, students mark the
everyday events that will soon recede
from the everyday. The last time we register
for classes. The last time we watch the Mich-
igan-Ohio State game from the student sec-
tion. The last time we get a day off while the
Graduate Employees' Organization strikes.
In honor of the last day of classes for
this year's graduating seniors, this section
reflects on four years of a changing univer-
sity, a changing state and a changing world.
We've witnessed the fall of affirmative
action and the deaths of three Michigan
Men, as well as the groundbreaking of this
campus's future from North Quad to the Big
House. There have been unfulfilled expec-
tations like the banishment of commence-
ment from the Big House, and unexpected
surprises like Lloyd Carr's swan song at the
Capital One Bowl after years of champion-
ship disappointment.
While this section does not pretend to
cover every notable event of the past four
years, it aims to bridge the moments from
orientation to graduation. And as the class
of 2008 celebrates the last of its last times,
we hope that this will inspire a last look at
where we've been.
Photo Credits
(1) ZACHARY MEISNER (2) ALLISON GHAMAN (3)
RODRIGO GAYA (4) CLIF REEDER (5) PETER SCHOT-
TENFELS (6) PETER SCHOTTENFELS (7)RBENJIRDELL (8)
AARON SWICK (9) PETERSCHOTTENFELS (10)tBEN
SIMON (11) ZACHARY MEISNER(12) PETERSCHOT-
TENFELS (13) MAX COLLINS

10

I. "


Spring Commencement 2008

Ceremony will be
held on the Diag
By JACOB SMILOVITZ
Daily StaffReporter
Twenty sets of bleachers and
30,000 chairs will fill the Diag to
accommodate graduates and their
guests for the University's April 26
commencement ceremony.
Michigan Stadium, where com-
mencement is usually held, can't be
used due to ongoing construction.
Organizers say the ceremony will
take place on the Diag rain or shine.
In January, University officials
announced that graduation would
be held at Eastern Michigan Univer-
sity's Rynearson Stadium, causing
a firestorm of student and alumni
outcry.
In response to the disapproval, a
University taskforce weighed other
options and surveyed graduating
seniors to determine the preferred
location.
After the Diag received 66 percent
of the 3,002 student votes cast in
February, administrators moved for-
ward to determine the logistics for a
Central Campus ceremony.
Set-up on the Diag started yester-
day with the construction of bleach-
ers along the east side of Mason Hall
and will take several stages to com-
plete. One lane of North University
Avenue will be closed for the first
stages of construction.
Seating will span east to west

from the Dana Building to Mason
Hall and north to south from North
University Avenuetothe Harlan
Hatcher Graduate Library. Dur-
ing the ceremony, the procession of
graduates will follow the sidewalk
under the West Hall arch, pass the
Shapiro Undergraduate Library and
cross the main stage located in front
of the Hatcher Graduate Library.
In addition to installing seating,
transforming the Diag into a com-
mencement venue will require other
alterations like removing kiosks and
trimming trees. Video screens and
audio towers will also be arranged
throughout the Diag.
Organizers will set up overflow
locations in Hill Auditorium, which
will open at 8:30 a.m. on graduation
day, and Ingalls Mall, which will
have a video display, speakers and
bleachers.
The lack of parking available near
the Diag compared to Michigan Sta-
dium also presented an obstacle for
organizers. Eighteen shuttles will
start running at 6:4S a.m. from the
Varsity Tennis Center and Glazier
Way lots on graduation day. Most
buses will stop running at 12:45
p.m., but two shuttles will continue
until 5 p.m. to return guests to their
vehicles.
At the Senate Advisory Commit-
tee on University Affairs meetingon
Monday, University President Mary
Sue Coleman said she thinks the
Diag ceremony will be a success.
"It will be a lovely graduation,"
she said.

AT THE HEART OF CAMPUS
How University officials plan to lay out the Diag for graduation on April 26.

KEY
Guest seating area
Shuttle bus drop-off
site
Graduate seating area
Wheelchair
accessible guest
seating
Accessible seating
check-in tent
.- Guest entry pathways
SOURCE: UNIVERSITY
OF MICHIGAN
GRA H ALL SONGHAMAN
& HI LARY RUFFE/Daily