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Wednesay, January 13 2010 The Statement 7B
ABOUTCAMPUS
statement
Magazine Editor:
Trevor Calero
Editor in Chief:
Jacob Smilovitz
Managing Editor:
Matt Aaronson
Deputy Editor:
Allie White
Designers:
Sara Boboltz
Corey DeFever
Photo Editor:
Jed Moch
Copy Editors:
Erin Flannery
Danqing Tang
Cover Photo:
Jed Moch
The Statement is The Michigan
Daily's news magazine, distributed
every Wednesday during the
academic year. To contact The State-
met e-mail trevorcalero@gmail.com
THEJUNKDRAWER
random student interview
ello
Hi. Is Jillian there?
No. Who's this?
Uh ... who's this?
This is her roommate, Sara. Who's this?
Trevor Calero. I'm the magazine editor
at The Michigan Daily.
Oh, OK. No. I'm her roommate.
I don't know if you read the Daily last
week but we're doing this thing called
Random Student Interview. And Iran-
domly chose your roommate, Jillian,
from the student directory. But if you
wouldn't mind doing the interview,
that'd be fine too.
What do I have to do?
Really just talk to me for a couple min-
utes.
Oh, OK.
Have you ever been to Studio 4?
I went there for the first time this week-
end. It was my friend's birthday so we
went out with her. It was OK.
Just OK?
Yeah, I don't know. If I never go back to
that place again I'd be OK.
Why's that?
it wasn't quite what I expected. It was
really just a lot of freshman, a lot of the
same type of people.
I know what you mean though. I used
to go to Studio a lot during my fresh-
man year. It's always one of those, it's
Thursday night, you're in the dorms,
you really don't want to but the kid
down the hall convinces you to go
and you go because you just know it's
going to be the best night of your life
and if you don't go you'll be missing
out. And just like every weekend its
the biggest dissapointment.
Everyone comes back, like, 'Oh my god,
that was so much fun.' But then you
really ask and they're, like,'that sucked.'
So I just figured I'd give it a chance. But
it's really just a lot of the same people.
Exactly, like when you go its just you
and everyone on your floor from Alice
Lloyd.
Exactly, or everyone in ... I'm in a soror-
ity, so it's all my sorority sisters.
What sorority are you in?
I'm in (sorority name removed).
How's that going for you?
Honestly, part of me regrets going
through with it, that I gave rush a
chance. I almost feel like I was tricked,
'cause everyone is, like, 'just wait until
you get to rush, just wait 'till you get to
initiation, just wait till you get, here.'
It's almost, like, just wait for the next
step. But when you get to that next
step, it's never what you thought it
would be.
Right, yeah.
What was rush like?
The first two days you visit all the hous-
es and it's 15-minute segments that
you're at each house. And you just have
these really fake conversations about,
you know, what dorm you're in, what
classes you're taking. And the next set
is a little bit longer and the conversa-
tions just get more fake.
Why do you keep doing it then?
I have this friend who convinced me
it was going to be a good thing. We're
going to room together next year.
Apparently if you have enough priority
in the house, if you go to enough things,
then we can live in the apartments
across the street from our house. So
we're going to try to get as much prior-
ity as we can sowe can live in the apart-
ments and not in the house.
So you're going to do as many soror-
ity-focused events as you can so you
can leave the sorority?
Yes, exactly.
What kind of things do you have to do?
Like, bea sober monitor at parties.
Do you know how awful that's going to
be? I'm just going to tell you right now,
that's going to be awful. Have you ever
been to a fraternity house not drunk?
No.
It's going to be terrible.
Really?
Yeah,it'sgoingto be bad'cause you're
going to look around at all the ridicu-
lously wasted people and you're going
to think, 'Oh my god, this is me when
I'm drunk.'
If it really sucks the first time maybe I'll
just de-pledge. That's how much I'm
devoted to this.
Next week you're totally going to be
out of this sorority.
- Sara is an LSA freshman. Last
Monday, she stole a Pop Tart from her
roommate, Jillian, who has no idea.
CATCHING UP WITH RALPH WILLIAMS
BYALLIE WHITE
the surface oftthe water
Williams spent this
Northern Italy, New Yor
engaged in Shakespear
ductions, scholarly lectu
man Era literature. He:
to act in the film "Triv
which he referred to as,
"I had no- idea the siz
ect," he said."I came to
the camera people, the:
the makeup people wh
THE STATEMENT IS CURRENTLY TAKING SUBMISSIONS FOR ITS ANNUAL LITERATURE ISSUE.
If you would like to submit original works of poetry or fiction, please e-mail calero@michigandaily.com.
W ith all the hype surround- used them more than anyone I'd ever his retirement from teaching last me look 20 year
ing storied University prof. seen before. spring. He recognized me immediate- which is a smal
Ralph Williams, I con- Every movement he made, every ly, took my tiny-in-comparison hand When he'di
sidered myself fortunate in having word he spoke and every emotion he with both of his and we got to talking. his age and I
secured a spot in one of his courses felt was conveyed in those hands. After winning the first-ever Golden question, "doy
during the winter 2008 semester, his At about the three-week marker, Apple Laureate Lifetime Achieve- teaching," a nc
last at the University. While I'd heard Williams again made his way through ment Award last April, which Wil- over Williams'
quite a bit about his larger-than-life
personality, I entered the class on the
first day prepared to make my own
observations about this 'legendary'
professor.
After finding a seat in the Natural5
Science auditorium on the first day of
class,I - and everyone else in the room
- waited for Prof Williams to arrive.Z
And I waited. And waited. And waited.
Just as I was about to give up hope "
of ever experiencing this legend for.
myself, a door at the top of the steps
flew open and Prof. Williams bound'
into the room, a wholly sincere smile
stretched across his face.
I followed in perplexed amazement
as he took his time, despite the late
entrance, to walk up and down each
set of stairs looking for familiar faces
among the students, stopping to chat
or shake hands when he found one.
Most professors would never do
this. Most professors of large classes
walk in, set up a PowerPoint, teach for
their allotted time and only interact
with students during pre-arranged
office hours. Most professors wouldn't .:
recognize former students. Most pro-
fessors probably wouldn't have repeat
students. Ralph Williams was not like Professor Ralph Williams reacts to receiving the Lifetime Achievement Golden Apple Award on March 9, 2009.
most professors.
And though the scene that first day the visages of his students when liams says currently resides in a room Despite hiss
was highly unordinary from any class he stopped in front of me, grinned in his home full of memorabilia that's professor and e
I'd had before, what got my attention and put out his hand to shake mine. "very, very important to (him)," he's Williams has a
were Williams' hands. Though I hesitated half a second kept himself busy with various travel mind, a student
Despite being an exceptionally too long out of sheer astonishment, and learning opportunities. Wringing hi
tall man with long limbs, his hands I recovered and offered my hand in "It's been a wonderfully busytime," of knuckles, W
caught me off guard. Not only were return. Williams said. "It's been rather like "sort of silent s
they fairly large in proportion to his Recently, I met with Williams to the experience you've had when you absence of stu
already considerable height, but he chat about what he's been up to since take a flat stone and try to skip it on nostalgia for th
s younge
1 miracle
finished
asked t
you plan
oticeable
countena
ing things alongside his students.
s summer in "I love it and miss very much the
rk and London freshness of the views of my stu-
ean stage pro- dents as they look at things with some
ires and Coi- experience of the world, but with the
also managed urgency at that moment to explore,,
vial Pursuits," extend and refresh the world with
a "revelation." their own ideas," he said.
ze of the proj- Whether or not he returns to the
admire hugely classroom, Williams promised to
sound people, always maintain a base in Ann Arbor
o had to make and strong ties to the University. The
r at one point, city and its offerings, he believes, have
already and will continue to make him
joking about into a "much bigger and better man."
he inevitable "I love Ann Arbor and the Univer=
to return to sity, just head over heels tumbling the
change took best University in the world, with the
ance. best students," he said with a grin.
"I can't imagine cutting myself free
entirely from that."
He continued, explaining his desire
to travel abroad again in the near
future. "I think I'd be the luckiest man
that ever was," he said of the combio
nation of his experiences around the
world as well those in Ann Arbor.
"I'm going to give it a run and don't
plan to have much of me left over
when it's 'good night,"' he added with
a flourish of his hands.
Throughout our sit-down, Wil-
liams' eyes occasionally lit up as he
spotted familiar faces around the cof-
fee shop. At one point, a young magi
approached our table and conversed
with Williams amicably for a while
as I listened, amazed at their mutual
genuine remembrance of minute
details from a class several years in
the past.
When we had covered sufficient
ground, Williams and I stood to part
ways. Once again, he took my hand
in both of his as a farewell gesture,
wished me good luck with my article
and told me it had been a pleasure
catching up. His parting sentiment
FILE PHOTO/D3ily was one of the few in my life that I
believed to be totally and completely
sincere.
rs as a scholar, Most professors would not have
various fields, taken the time to shoot the breeze for
mained, in his an afternoon in Starbucks. Most pro-
fessors never would have admitted to
into a maze their lack of cooking skills. Most pro-
described the fessors wouldn't have intimate knowl-
wing with the edge of Winston Churchill's painting
oices and his hobby. But then again, Ralph Wil:
nent of learn- liams was not most professors.
I
Resources may be limited.
Ideas are NOT.
So if you have a breakthrough idea for helping
planet earth to be a more sustainable place, then
enter the Dow Sustainability Innovation
Student Challenge.
Concepts, which should be interdisciplinary in
nature, can be related to chemistry, climate change,
energy conservation, product safety, public policy,
or other critical ideas. Students with the top three
ideas will receive $10,000, courtesy of the Dow
Chemical Company.
The Dow Challenge is exclusively for U-M graduate
students. Individual and team submissions will be
accepted. The entry deadline is Jan. IS, 2010.
So don't delay. If you think you have a winning idea
...go ahead.
Apply online at www.graham.umich.edu.
THINK OUR NEW
RULES SUCK?
Come to our next mass
meeting, join The
Statement, and write
your own.
TONIGHT AT 8 P.M.,
420 MAYNARD ST.
many year
xpert in
lways ren
t.
Js hands
Villiamsc
pot" grow
dents' v
e excite
GRAHAM -
INSTITUTE
GRADUATING THIS YEAR? WHAT'S THE ONE THING YOU'D
LIKE TO DO WITH THE TIME YOU HAVE LEFT?
The Statement is taking suggestions for its first ever Bucket List issue.
Tell us what you'd put on your bucket list. Send your suggestions to calero@michigandaily.com.