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TeMciaDaily Weneda, ebuay 00

ABOUT CAMPUS -¢
ILLUSTRATIONS BY JON OQU ST

Magazine Editor:
Jessica Vosgerchian
Editor in Chief:
Gary Graca
Managing Editor:
Courtney Ratkowiak
Photo Editor:
Sam Wolson
Multimedia Editor:
David Azad Merian
The Junk Drawer:
Brian Tengel
Center spread design:
Hillary Ruffe
Cover photo:
Chris Dzombak and
Rodrigo Gaya

new rules
rule 185: Don't
Count on finish-
ing your midterm
paper on the
plane to or from
your Spring Break
destination. rule
186: Twitter
might be idiotic,
but if it's being
used to break
news you can't
completely ignore
it. rule 187: No
one really cares
how little you
slept last night.
Keep it to yourself
and catch some
shut eye during
lecture like every-
one else.
- E-mail rule submissions to
TheStatementuumich.edu

The Statement is The Michigan
Daily's news magazine, distributed
every Wednesday during the
academic year.

Samurai h
sweethearts p
in
Going undercover with the th
Valentine's Day Ninjas o1
uT
Known for their stealthy distri- sr
bution of candy around campus on w
Valentine's Day, the red- and pink- m
clad Valentine's Ninjas struck m
again last Saturday. ti
But this year, the ninjas allowed u
a Statement writer to join their
band of guerrilla gift-givers on h
their mission to thrust sweets into id
the hands of unsuspecting stu- ac
dents. o
Usually, the group attacks dur- ar
ing lectures, but the ninjas decided m
to visit weekend hot spots this year in
since Feb. 14 fell on a Saturday. th
The ninjas are composed mainly ci
of students in the College of Engi- g
neering and are not affiliated with d
any student groups - except for le
their Valentine's Day excursion co
in 2007 when they allied with the w
UM Patriots, an infamous group n
of engineering pranksters whose
common stage was also lecture a:

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rigorous training sessions as the
others.
After sneaking onto a blue bus,
we passed out candy to the riders
and thensauntered acrosstheDiag.
Luckily, we were able to infiltrate
several campus tours. One candy
recipient on her cell phone pro-
claimed "GOD, I love this school!"
while another commented, "I'm
glad there are people who like to
see other people happy." Reactions
like these are what drive the nin-
jas, they said.
"We love our school and doing
fun things on campus, and it's
just so great to see people's faces
light up after receiving candy and
a 'Happy Valentine's Day' from a
pink ninja," the ninja sensei said.
After passing through the Diag,
we visited the Union, hitting a
Dance Marathon event and pass-
ing out candy in the basement and
quiet study rooms. At times, ninjas
are so stealthy that students don't
notice their presence until they've
been attacked. Though it's not the
group's intention to frighten any-
one, students who might have been
deep into a study session will often
let out a quick scream before being
subdued by candy.

The next attack points were
the Law Quad, Law Library and
the new Ross School of Business.
When I passed out chocolate to a
table of four at the b-school, one
student asked for a kiss.
Our excursion, which lasted
slightly more than two hours, was
long and hot. I may have acciden-
tally revealed my identity several
times when I pulled down my
mask for air and water. I worried
that the other ninjas might want to
kick me out, but I don't think they
noticed - or at least they were kind
enough to forgive an amateur.
Other stops included the Gradu-
ate Library, the UGLi, South Quad,
the Fishbowl, Espresso Royale and
Borders Books. With only about
two pieces of candy remaining
per ninja at about 2:30 p.m., we
decided to infiltrate The Michigan
Daily office. When we arrived, the
newsroom was nearly empty - as
unlikely as it might seem, the staff-
ers must have been out on dates.
So having spread love and choc-
olate to our student peers in bulk,
we met one last time outside and
dispersed into thin air to clean our
extra-durable pillowcases.
-KARA MORRIS


ITh ithEu~kbkuit I

- UARTS 250 -
"C REATIVyE P RO CESS
AN INTERDISCIPUINARY STUDIO-LECTURE COURSE
In residency at the Abbey of Pontlevoy,
FRANCE
May 18 - June 12, 2009
Four Weeks/Four Credits
Satisfies the LSA Creative Expression Requirement
INFORMATION SESSIONS:
Tuesday, February 17, 5:00pm,Art & Architecture Bldg. Room 221
Wednesday, Feb 18, 7:00pm, Michigan Union Pond Room
Making creativity an integral part of students' lives and work.
Learn more now: www.artsonearth.org/students
n N EARTH g
This course is supported by the University of Michigan's Multidisciplinary Learning and Team Teaching initiative

alls.
So how, then, is the torch
assed to next year's ninjas? Try-
g to protect their secret rituals,
his year's ninja sensei listed two
ptions. One involves an illegal,
nderground fight between pro-
pective sensei, the loser leaving
ith a broken heart. The other
nethod, the head ninja said, is
tuch simpler and more likely: the
tle of sensei goes to whoever vol-
nteers.
Strong and silent stealers of
earts, the ninjas asked that their
entities remain concealed to
dhere to their sacred ninja vow
f spreading love anonymously
nd asking nothing in return. You
tight have encountered the rac-
ng clan - you might have thought
hat one caught your eye for a spe-
ial reason - but let that dream
o. Valentine's ninjas can't be tied
own. They take campus by storm,
aving nothing but handfuls of
andy and broken hearts in their
wake. Never has a group of engi-
eers been so debonair.
My adventure started out with
a e-mail from the Valentine's

ninja sensei that meticulously
outlined the requisite wardrobe,
mask-wrapping method and
chocolate supply.
Early Saturday, I joined a fel-
low warrior and headed to the
Salvation Armv for the ninja uni-
form: red slacks and shirts. We
stealthily collected our ammu-
nition at Kroger before heading
home for our morning agility
training session.
After filling our extra-durable
pillowcases with candy, we drove
to North Campus and joined
forces with nine other ninjas.
We stealthily exited our car and
made our way to the top-secret
meeting place, staying unnoticed
by using lampposts and shadows
for cover.
Our first targets were students
studying in the Duderstadt Cen-
ter. We quietly passed out candy
using a combination of silent
running, barrel rolls and karate
chops.
After scaling the first, second
and third floors of the Dude, I
was hot and tired. Clearly, this
ninja hadn't attended as many

I

North Campus
MLK Spirit Awards presents
Zingerman's Co-Founder
Paul Saginaw
Wednesday, February 18
Rm 2104, Art & Architecture Bldg
4:30 Reception
5:00 Ceremony