U V V V -0 -7W -W 7W 2B - - - - -/.Wdesa, anay 3 21 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.