,-krbo 2F - New Student Edition The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com You don't have to be 21 to have fun 4 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 4 '4 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. 4 '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 j { Hash Bash has been celebrated during the first weekend in April for 37 4 . '