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2F - New Student Edition
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
You don't have to be 21 to have fun
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Most freshmen think going to college means freedom. But in Ann Arbor, freedom is only really achieved after your 21st birthday, when you can get
into the Brown Jug or walk into Village Corner without worrying that they'll take your crappy California fake and tape it to the wall.
But there's plenty to do at Michigan that doesn't include bar-hopping.
Here are four places where hangovers aren't necessarily included.
STATE THEATRE
MIDNIGHT MOVIES
Have you ever wondered what it'd be like to see clas-
sic older movies on the silver screen? The State The-
' " atre gives Ann Arborites that opportunity on weekend
nights at midnight.
In the past, it has shown films like A Clockwork
Orange, Christmas Vacation and Animal House, movies
incoming freshmen probably never had the chance to
see in an actual theater. A midnight movie can make
for a fun night with your friends or a picture-perfect
date night - just add a cute girl or guy and a romantic
dinner.
ANDY REID
MICHIGAN UNION
PROGRAMS
As a freshman, chances are that you'll know all
about this weekend's "CEOs and Corporate Hoes"
party at that frat down State Street. But it's not often
that you'll hear about parties like the "Dance through
he the Decades" one at the Michigan Union - and with
th music from a different decade played every hour, you
sn can bet it won't get old as fast as hearing "Crank That"
of for the fifth time in a row.
th The University Unions sponsor a series of events
ce that are held from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. most Friday nights.
as For freshmen in Bursley or Baits, there is a shuttle bus
st from the Union to North Campus. Past events have
o included theme dances, salsa lessons, improv comedy
ir performances, a cappella groups, movie screenings,
ke karaoke and ice skating at Yost Ice Arena. And every
le event includes a midnight buffet - honestly, who can
pass up a free pasta, nacho or breakfast bar?
K COURTNEY RATKOWIAK
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The one day a year when green beer is OK
Sure, holidays like St. Patrick's Day and Halloween are celebrated by millions of people outside of Ann Arbor, but these yearly events come with an
added twist here. Crazy costumes, green beer and block parties make these holidays different than anything you experienced in high school.
Ann Arbor also celebrates some "holidays" that can't be found anywhere else. Read on to learn a little more about why these special days are so
much fun in Ann Arbor.
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'ST. PATRICK'S
DAY
ith the smell of stale beer in
the air, I awoke at the late hour of
10:30 a.m. I peered out my window
and down into the front yard to
see one of my friends rolling in the
mud, dressed in agreenblazer.
It was St. Patrick's Day.
Well, technically, it was the
weekend before St. Patrick's Day.
But the Pope decided to move up
the holiday from Monday to Sat-
urday, probably so people wouldn't
get obscenely drunk during the
Holy Week before Easter. It just
gave college students an excuse to
celebrate twice.
The following Monday, students
stumbled from Conor O'Neill's on
Main Street to attend their classes,
singing songs and yelling incoher-
ently at the more studious, sober
students.
St. Patrick's Day is the equivalent
of a football Saturday in March.
People set their alarm clocks just so
they can get an early start on their
drinking.
It's the only day ofthe year where
drinking green beer is acceptable,
and if you're not drinking green
beer, you're just lame.
If you're not drinking, the day
also can be a very enlightening
experience on what happens when
young people are given mass quan-
tities of alcohol with no supervi-
sion.
The University's St. Patrick's
Day isn't your preschool celebra-
tion where you get pinched if you
don't wear green. Here, it's more
important what you're drinking
than what you're wearing. Just
look at the ridiculous outfits people
sport around campus. It's all right
if a guy's wearing a green feathered
scarf and a ridiculous pair of sun-
glasses - as long as he's drinking
that beer.
Here, everyone is Irish on St.
Patrick's Day. Or everyone is just
drunk idiots. Often, it's both.
JASON KOHLER
HALLOWEEN
Dressing up as Mickey Mouse
was cool in first grade. Everyone
wore costumes in middle school.
And then, by the time high school
rolled around, you were lame if you
admitted to going trick-or-treat-
ing.
But at the University, Hallow-
een is the best holiday of the year.
To quote "Mean Girls," it's the one
night ayear whengirls can dress like
a total slut and no one can say any-
thing about it. And that's definitely
true in Ann Arbor. But it's not a hol-
iday just for girls - the boys have
costumes that are just as ridiculous..
Last Halloween; in the middle of
the street, I ran into a guy who
dubbed his costume "kid with
boner," which basically meant that
he had taped a banana to a pair of
tight, bright blue boxers. Moments
later, bumped into a guy we ring
purple balloons taped to his chest
and posing as a "bunch of grapes."
It's a holiday for girls to bare
skin and guys to get creative. After
talking to your freshman friends
in sororities who have ordered
matching skimpy sailor suits or
policewoman costumes, you'll get
the hint. The less you wear, the
more fun you'll have. For all stu-
dents, last-minute efforts have the
potential to produce unforgettable
costumes - like my friend's "Walk
of Shame" outfit, complete with
unkempt hair, smudged makeup
and aboy's T-shirt.
Ann Arbor loves its block par-
ties, and some of the best hap-
pen on Halloween. Houses on
Elm Street host their traditional
"Nightmare on Elm Street" party.
(Expect the Ann Arbor police to
break it up before 11:30, though.)
Fraternities throw outrageous
parties. And even when the holi-
day falls on a weeknight, you can
expect to see hundreds of stu-
dents going to class in costume
by day and wandering the streets
all night. It's a holiday unlike any
other - and who knows, seeing a
classmate from your honors Eng-
lish class wearing nothing but a
toga could make your night.
NICOLE AUERBACH
HASH BASH
One of Ann Arbor's nicknames
is "Tree Town," and many resi-
dents are proud of how "green" the
city is. They boast about how easy
it is to get around town on foot or
hybrid-electric bus. But there may
be another reason for the nick-
name: Hash Bash.
Ann Arbor, is well known for its
lenient marijuana laws. Possession
of the drug, when you're safely off'
University property and under city
jurisdiction, will land you a measly
$25 fine on your first offense. But
you won't often find people smok-
ing in the streets - except during
Hash Bash.
For 37 years, people have gath-
ered on the Diag, the physical and
symbolic center of the University,
to demonstrate support for reform
of marijuana laws. Hash Bash takes
place the first Saturday in April
and begins when people assemble
on the Diag from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
for "high noon." Though atten-
dance has declined recently, sunny
weather and temperatures in the
sixties brought out nearly 2,000
people last year.
The crowd is a mix of people
from first-year Ann Arbor students
and residents who merely observe
the festivities to men wearing elab-
orate costumes and boasting that
they've been to every Hash Bash
since the first in 1972. Speakers
address the crowd from the steps of
the Hatcher Graduate Library, and
there's music - some scheduled,
some improvised by members of
the crowd with guitars, banjos and
accordions. Last year's event drew
4
Halloween is the one day of the year where you won't look ridiculous in a tutu. (lust kidding. You still will, but everyone will be too drunk to care.)
a drum circle and chanters from a
Detroit Hare Krishna temple.
After high noon, much of the
crowd migrates to Monroe Street'
near the Law Quad. Police block
off the street, and people smoke
marijuana openly while vendors
hawk Hash Bash T-shirts and drug
paraphernalia from stalls along the
sidewalk.
Last year, one-time Hash Bash
mainstay John Sinclair returned
to the Diag. The former leader of
the movement to reform marijua-
na laws in Michigan was arrested
in 1969, and it was because of his
arrest that Hash Bash first began. A
challenge to his 10-year prison sen-
tence led to the Michigan Supreme
Court temporarily overturning
the state's marijuana laws, and the
first Hash Bash was a spontaneous
gathering of marijuana users on
April 1, 1972. The year before, Sin-
clair's harsh sentence also brought
together icons like John Lennon,
Allen Ginsberg, Bob Seger and Ste-
vie Wonder for the 1971 "Free John
Now Rally" at Crisler Arena.
Hash Bash is the perfect Ann
Arbor holiday. With its mix of eclec-
tic history and culture, it wouldn't
be found in any other city.
CHARLES GREGG-GEIST
FESTIFOOLS
Although FestiFools may not
have the rich history of Hash Bash,
art teacher Mark Tucker is trying
to make this parade, which will cel-
ebrate its second run next April, an
Ann Arbor mainstay.
Instead of the customary pranks
that are only okay on April Fool's
Day, FestiFools celebrates the holi-
day by displaying puppets during a
two-hour parade on Main Street.
"Students and community mem-
bers are coming together to create
a fantastic show of enormous street
puppets, inventive musical instru-
ments, expressive choreography
and resourceful costumes that are
only limited by one's own imagina-
tion," FestiFools' official website
states.
Although the "general mer-
rymaking" takes place on Main
Street, which is quite a trek from
campus, the day's events make the
walk more than worth it.
Studentsand AnnArborites alike
are encouraged to build their own
creations to display in the parade,
and the most interesting part of the
entire parade is seeing the different
puppets each group made.
There are very few regulations
about the puppets people can sub-
mit. They can't be more than 14 feet
tall or six feet wide - but that's still
a huge puppet. Theyhave to be com-
pletely handmade, human-powered
and fully manned by enough people
to support it.
If Tucker and the rest of the par-
ticipants from last year's inaugural
parade can continue to hype the
event, Ann Arbor may have its new-
est tradition.
ANDYREID
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Hash Bash has been celebrated during the first weekend in April for 37
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