FitiDAYFOCUS The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 17, 1995 -3 Like others, they came to the University to study, but found a reason for ... At Students are staying in A2, setting up shop and profiting By Lisa Poris Daily Staff Reporter ncoming students often feel much trepidation when they first move away from home into a strange en- vironment. The faces around them are unfamiliar. They share a room for the first time and they feel nauseous with homesickness. Many wonder what possesssed them to go to school hundreds or thousands of miles away from home. John Carlson was one of those when he arrived on campus from his hometown in northern Michigan in the fall of 1989. He said he did not think he would want to be here after graduation. Now, the owner of the Grizzly Peak brewpub on Washington Street is pur- This is probably where we know the most about the market and the people - Scott Severance Co-owner of three Ann Arbor businesses suing his master's of business admin- istration after re- ceiving his under- graduate degree in December 1993. "* *love it down here," he said. His affection for Ann Arbor grew during his under- graduate years, and now he's sold on the diverse and young community of the city. "This town is focused on the university set- ting,. Even though it is small, it is still a trend-setting city," Carlson said. The University's Alumni Association's records indicate 23,000 alumni reside in Washtenaw County. Two of them are friends who have known each other since fifth grade. Scott Severance and Kirt Scholler are co-owners of Condoms 101, Not Another Cafe and Salad Days - all local stores. They both received an en- gineering degree 1991 and master's of business administration in 1993 from the University. "It's a diverse and cosmopolitan town," Severance said. "This is prob- ably where we know the most about the market and the people. "It's a good environment to test out a lot of ideas," Severance added. Maria Simonte, director of market- ing and membership for the Alumni Association, estimates that there are 400,000 living alumni around the world. While the lure of Ann Arbor seems to capture many, other schools also have a strong pull. For instance, more than 35,900 Michigan State University alumni live in the school's home county of Ingham. At other schools, like the the Univer- sity ofTexas at Austin, a greater percent- age of alumni may remain in the area of the university following graduation. Sources at the Texas Alumni Asso- ciation said that 55,000 out of the Not Another Cafe (top), Salad Days (above) and Condoms 101 (right) are all owned by alums Scott Severance and Kirt Scholler. Both earned engineering degrees from the University before pursuing masters degrees in the Business School. They are only two of about 23,000 University alumni living in the greater Ann Arbor area. Photos by ELIZABETH LIPPMAN/Daily 280,000 living alumni live in Austin. Jim Nicar, a computer programmer for the Texas Alumni Association, at- tributed the high percentage to the fact that Austin is the capital of Texas and more opportunities may present them- selves for graduates. "In a place ... like Austin, many people do find jobs and develop strong emotional ties to the city," he said. At the University of California at Berkeley, the percentage is still greater. While no exact numbers were avail- able, Pete Cooney, the director of mar- keting and membership for the Califor- nia Alumni Association said, "The majority (of alumni) live in Northern California, and the majority of those people live in the Bay area." Cooney added that in Northern Cali- fornia, alumni have opportunities to enter into every field and that they can be found doing just about everything. However, he said he also felt that the number of alumni remaining in the Bay area is steadily decreasing as the cost of living for the Bay area goes up. Students find opportunities to work f'or city By Maureen Sirhal Daily Staff Reporter While many University students complain that Ann Arbor is not a mecca of excitement, it does offer students many unique opportunities. But those opportunities are sometimes hidden. Students are often portrayed as apathetic with little or no involvement in the community. As residents and constituents of Ann Arbor, students are allowed to participate in the workings of local government as much as a non-University residents. Yet making students aware of tl eir opportunities is often difficult said LSA sophomore Fiona Rose, chair of Michigan Student Assembly's External Relations Committee. Rose is a member of the Housing Board of Appeals for Ann Arbor. As part of her duties, she devotes several hours a month to attending meetings and reviewing the proposals' brought forth by Ann Arbor citizens and other board mem- bers. The commission tours housing sites and makes recom- mendations to city departments and the City Council: "Students don't realize how it affects them." Rose said.~ "We have done inspections of inadequate student dwellings. One of the big issues is basement occupancy. Landlords think they can clean out their basement, put in a bed and a table and charge $500 per month. "I lend a student voice when it is needed," Rose said. Just as students suffer from a lack of awareness of what is happening in the community, city hall officials are not always informed of the activities of students on campus. Rose said she believes their combination on commissions would offer benefits to both sides. Rose said that if more students got involved in neighbor- hood associations, especially within the Greek system, then As local activism wanes, volunteerism fills void *City "Issues no longer inspire students By Maureen Sirhal Daily Staff Reporter Ann Arbor, like few other cities, is known for its history of spirited activ- ism. But a majority of that energy is focused on the University, while many city issues go largely unnoticed. Ann Arbor Mayor Ingrid Sheldon explained what she perceives as the difference between activism and "tI thought maybe I could make a difference"-PerNioa less emphasis on community activism whether it be in social organizations or in city government. Former City Councilmember Peter Nicolas first ran for council midway through his first year as a graduate student in the School of Public Policy. "I thought maybe I could make a difference," he said. Nicolas said most students do not take Former Ann Arbor City Council resentation on City Council. -- Peter Nicolas member and graduate student maintains that comminitv volunteerism 'rv