Wednesday, June 7, 1995 - The MichiganDaily-- 3 ystery ural pices up amn st. Scott Bishop ly Staff Reporter What is 68 feet wide and demands ttention? A few boards erected to pro- ct pedestrians on the sidewalk of South am Street have been transformed into mural attracting notice for both its unky art and its mysterious origin. Ellie Serras, events coordinator for he Main Street Area Association, said at the eclectic mural is a welcome ad- ion to the area. "We all think it's really 1. It's so typical Ann Arbor. It's artsy. think everybody loves it. We love it," he said. The eight-feet high mural shields alkers along South Main Street from e refurbishing of the former Kline's de- artment store. It features many bright ulti-colored painted faces of varying hapes and sizes with large accented eyes. Into this mix are hats, shirts, gloves d pants that form the shapes of bodies. 'smatched shoes, plastic fruit, flowers and ferns, paint-can tops, a cooking strainer, a plastic shopping bag and a rubber butterfly add even more to the sensory overload. So who are the artists that deserve these accolades? That's the mystery, and while there are suspects, the verdict has not been reached yet. Seras contacted the Art Department at The three-dimensional mural that stretches down Main Street was created by an anonymous author. Ann Arbor Community High about the protective wall. "I said, 'We would like to know if you've got students who would be interested in decorating the wall.' (Art teacher Elaine Hedley) said sure," Serras said. "We both decided that -if she had students interested they would submit a proposal of what they thought they'd like to do to the wall. That's how we left it. I never got a proposal and I never heard back from her. We have no idea if Community High students did or if somebody else beat them to it." Ed Shaffran, owner of the property, was likewise baffled. "We have no idea who did it.... I was not contacted by Community High School. We do know that they did it at two or three in the morning, because one of my employees saw them." Kris Hermanson, an art teacher at Community High, said the school was not involved. "No adult teachers in the school had anything to do with this," she said. However, she did name two artists and former Community High students, Leif Ritchie and James "Twig" Johnson, as artists possibly responsible for the mural. "We announced it to our kids and word probably got around to Leif. ... I asked about it this morning and the kids told me." Neither Ritchie nor Johnson could be reached for continent. Whoever actually created the mural, Shaffran is grateful. "People think it's quite interesting. I haven't heard any negative comments. We're just happy somebody did a good job." More students stay on campus; housing squeeze hits 'U' By Maggie Weyhing Daily Staff Reporter Due to a large incoming class and a high return rate of upperclassmen to the residence halls, the University is experi- encing a crunch in housing space. Alan Levy, director of public affairs d information for the Housing Divi- sion, said many upperclassmen chose to move back into the halls because of the lack of eight-month leases available to students who want to live off campus. Levy also cited the Housing Division's rigorous campaign to encour- age students to move back as a cause for overcrowding. Although Levy said that he is pleased with the heightened interest in on-cam- s housing, he said that the high occu- ancy levels of the halls can cause poten- tial difficulties. He said one of these problems is privacy. "Because of the large amount of stu- dents that are going to be living in the dorms, we will have to make full use of our converted triples," Levy said. "Obvi- ously, we are very aware that converted triples are not ideal living-arrangements. In a different world we wouldn't use 0em, but they are necessary if we want guarantee housing for all students who want to live on campus." However, Levy said that often times even the doubles and singles do not pro- vide sufficient room for today's student. "In 1968, when our most recent resi- dence hall was built, students used to come to the University with two suitcases. Now they.are coming with two U-hauls. People today just have more things," he said. Marc Kaplan, coordinator of resi- dence education for the Mary Markley residence hall, said that there isnot a grave overcrowding problem at Markley. However, Kaplan did say that many stu- dents are having difficulties finding enough personal space. "The dorms were built in another gen- eration. Previous generations weren't used to having so much personal space," Kaplan said. "Most people shared rooms and didn't have as much stuff. We now have many affluent students who are used to having their own rooms at home." Along with a student's mass of per- sonal belongings, most bring computers that have more modern residence halls. plans to build new residence halls. How- as well. Regent Andrea Fischer Newman "When we are recruiting top students ever, he said that if the heightened inter- (R-Ann Arbor) said that technology ad- and they come here to take a look at the est in on-campus housing continues, the vancements have caused the campus, we know that we are competing University will consider turning the University's residence halls to fall a bit against other universities that offer more Lloyd and Wynchell houses of West behind the times. modern housing," she said. Quad, which are now used for office space, "I know that there is a definite space Levy said that the University has no into rooms for students in fall 1996. concern as far as the residence halls go. We are currently reviewing the situation and we keep going through various up- grades," Newman said. "We have to make renovations in the residence halls so that students will be able to go online with their computers. The dorms have to be updated because when Markley was built in the late 1950s. For example, no one ever dreamed of such an elaborate computer system.' Newman also said the University is concerned with competing with schools i r I 320 South State St. DRUGS 663-4121 The place to shop for all your Summer needs! SWEATSHIRTS, AND COTTON HATS. 'Sunglasses Coolers 304 S.tMats Street o4 doors South of Liberty eSun block " Frisbees gga gg - 'Insect repellent _ Fans Open Monday Through Friday 9 AM-7 PM, SAVE $2 ON ANY FAN IN STOCK! Sat 10-7, Sun 10-6 T _ -.