Summer Weekly
One hundred two years of editorial freedom
11-1 OE
Rock sits at
crossroads of
controversy
By BRYN MICKLE The rock was never intended to be
DALY STAFF REPORTER an evolving symbol of social and po-
What do the slogans "DEKES litical commentary. In 1932, a city
RULE," "KEELY + CHRIS" and parks superintendent had the rock
"CLASS OF'93 FOREVER" have in brought to its present locale to com-
common? The authors of these state- memoratethe200th birthday ofGeorge
ments may collectively cost Ann Ar- Washington. A copper plaque was
bor one of its most famous landmarks imbedded in the rock, but was de-
-the rock. stroyed in the late 1950s by students
Themassiveboulderthatsitsonthe whobeganthetraditionofcoveringthe
comer of Hill Street and Washtenaw rock with spray-painted slogans of the
Avenuehaslongbeenhometo student day.
graffiti,butnow someresidents of that Some neighbors of the rock have
neighborhood want to see an end to demanded the long-standing tradition
that tradition. end. Four weeks ago, the ONA filed a
The Oxbridge Neighborhood As- petition with the Ann Arbor Parks
sociation (ONA) demands the city re- Advisory Commission to demand the
move the rock from its neighborhood, city remove the rock and pay for clean
because of the vandalism the rock at- up of the surrounding area. A public
tracts. TheONA argues the graffiti- hearinghasbeensetforJuly 14,butthe
oftenpornographic-appearsonside- final decision willbe made by the City
walks, streets and street signs around Council.
the rock. Ron Olsen, the superintendent of
Peter Pleitner, a representative of the Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation
the ONA, wants the city to deal with office, said thatneighborhood protests
the situation the rock has created. over the rock are nothing new.
That area is attracting a lot of "In the last five or six years we've
vandalism," he said. See ROCK, Page 2
PETER MAT EIRU8I
Maize & Blue race team celebrates in the Minnesota Zoo. See related photo story, pages 8 and 9.
Maize Blue rayCes to Australia
By PETER MATTHEWS
DALY STAFF REPORTER
Last Saturday 34 strange looking
creatures and hundreds of thei keep-
ers stormed into the Minnesota Zoo.
Although all the creatures were of the
same species it was nigh impossible to
discern this by phenotype alone.
Saturday marked the final day of
Surayce 93. It ended on a bright note.
Sunny skies drenched the cobalt blue,
razor-sized photovoltaic cells of 34
solar-powered cars with energizing
photons. The cars crossed the finsh
line after a seven day, 1,100mile jour-
ney from Arlington, Tex.
This was a well deserved conclu-
sion toan event which saw mechanical
breakdowns and grey skies forcemany
teams to trailer their vehicles to each of
the designated overnight stops.
The University's car and team, the
Maize& Blue,proved themselves once
again the fittest. The team successfully
defended its title by winning - as it
did at General Motors' Sunrayce 90.
Moreover, theUniversity'scar wasas
in 1990, the only car to complete every
leg of the race.
Chased by her 21 cheering team-
mates, Deanna Winton, an Engineer-
ing junior, drove the Maize & Blue
across the finish line at 11:53 CDT.
Among the crowd of several hun-
dred were numerous University al-
ums, students and parents, as well
University PresidentJamesDuderstadt
and his wife Anne Duderstadt. Wav-
See Vrons, Page 2
Explosion leaves 3,500 without power
By BRYN MICKLE ter the smoke was reported, an explo- Employees inside the computing
DAILY STAFF REPORTER sion sent the manhole cover rocketing building said they were ordered not to
The aeronautical properties of a through the air. The Ann Arbor Fire commenton the explosion or any other
manholecover were demonstrated yes- Department responded and doused the incidents at the computing center.
terday when an explosion rocked a blaze engulfing the tunnel. In the wake of the bombing at a
North Campus intersection. The blast Detroit Edison officials identified computing center at Yale University,
- which did not result in any injuries the cause of the underground fire as the University implemented increased
- caused brief power outages at the faulty wiring. The University has no campuswide security measures. Offi-
North Campus Computing Center and plans to further investigate the inci- cials denied that this latest explosion
left 3,500 Detroit Edison customers dent. was connected to the resurgance of
without power. Vatsal Sonecha, a North Campus university centered terrorism.
At approximately 12:15 p.m. yes- employee, said the lights in the com- 'This is in no way related to the
terday, smoke began to pour from a puting center flickered twice, but said recentbombingsatotheruniversities,"
manhole cover at the corner of Beal the computing systems were not af- University News and Information Di-
Avenue and Glacier Way. Shortly af- fected. rector Joe Owsley said.
HEATHER LOWMAN/Daily
Enameled rocks may soon search for a new resting place.