In a move taken straight 

out 
of 
the 
“Parks 
and 

Recreation” 
playbook, 
the 

Michigan Secretary of State 
rolled out a cool and hip rap 
video 
featuring 
Secretary 

of State Ruth Johnson and 
Roo — a kangaroo — in order 
to advertise the Secretary of 
State’s website, expressSOS.
com.

The website is intended 

to save Michigan residents a 
trip to the Secretary of State’s 
office, 
offering 
services 

like 
renewing 
vehicle 

registrations, 
replacing 
a 

driver’s license and updating 
personal information.

Johnson’s rap emphasizes 

that “nobody has time to lose 
and that time to lose is such 
old news”. Instead of getting 
in line, Johnson says, we 
should follow the example of 

Roo, and hop online. And, in 
what seems to be an homage 
to the Sugar Hill Gang’s song 
“Rapper’s Delight,” Johnson 
instructs 
the 

audience 
to 

“bang bang your 
keyboard to the 
‘boogiest’ 
of 

beats.”

The video is a 

combination 
of 

clips of Johnson 
speaking, 
whether 
to 

the 
camera 
or 

in 
public, 
and 

several other non 
sequitur 
stock 

videos, including 
a 
man 
playing 

golf, an airplane 
taking 
off 
and 

people riding a 
roller coaster.

Though 
in 
the 
video 

Johnson claims to be “rapping 
to the beat,” the song can’t be 
described as anything other 

than rather unpleasant, or 
just bizarre.

- ANDREW HIYAMA

FRIDAY THE 13TH. SOS. 
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2 — Friday, January 13, 2017
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CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES

Tech Talk: Google at 
U-M

WHAT: Learn tips and tricks 
for UM’s Google tools to 
organize your inbox. Attendees 
will learn how to create labels 
and folders in order to facilitate 
effecient work management.

WHO: Information and 
Technology Services

WHEN: 11 a.m. to noon

WHERE: Michigan Union, 
Room G312

Martin Luther King Jr. 
Colloquium

WHAT: University of Chicago 
Prof. Lenore A. Grenoble will 
be hosting a colloquium about 
speeches given by Martin Luther 
King Jr. and the oratory style he 
pursued.

WHO: Department of Linguistics

WHEN: 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

WHERE: East Hall - Room 4448

Ribbon Cutting and 
Gallery Walk

WHAT: The UM history exhibit is 
opening to the pubic. Showcases 
that show key moments of student 
expression, politics and culture 
will be on display.

WHO: LSA Bicentennial Theme 
Semester

WHEN: 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

WHERE: Hatcher Graduate 
Library Gallery, Room 100

Colonialism in the 
Phillippines Lecture

WHAT: Prof. Rebecca McKenna 
from the University of Notre 
Dame Department of History 
will be speaking about the 
construction of a U.S. Colonial 
retreat in the Philippines.

WHO: Center for Southeast 
Asian Studies

WHEN: Noon to 1 p.m.

WHERE: School of Social Work 
Building, Room 1636

Leadership Crisis 
Challenge
WHAT: The Sanger Leadership 
Center is hosting a leadership 
competition for graduate students 
that is designed to simulate high-
stakes crises in business settings 
under the monitoring of faculty 
and business leaders. The winner 
will receive $5,000 scholarship.
WHO: Sanger Leadership Center

WHEN: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

WHERE: Michigan Stadium, 
Jack Roth Stadium Club

Southern African 
Climates

WHAT: Columbia University 
Prof. Sidney Hemming will be 
giving a lecture about the unique 
climate of South Africa.

WHO: Department of Earth and 
Environmental Sciences

WHEN: 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

WHERE: C.C. Little Building, 
Room 1528

Photography and 
Anthropology in Iran

WHAT: Oklahoma State 
University Prof. Pedram 
Khosronejad will be giving a 
lecture about how African slavery 
was portrayed in Iran during the 
Qajar period (1789-1925).

WHO: Islamic Studies Program
WHEN: 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. 

WHERE: School of Social Work 
Building, Room 1644

Searching for a 
Responsive Environment 
Lecture

WHAT: Dennis Crompton, 
a member of the architecture 
think tank Archigram, and the 
Taubman College of Architecture 
and Urban Planning will give a 
lecture.

WHO: A. Alfred Taubman 
College of Architecture and 
Urban Planning

WHEN: 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

WHERE: Walgreen Drama 
Center, Stamps Auditorium

THE CIRCUS IS OVE R

KEVIN ZHENG/Daily

Circus Bar & Billiards on South 1st Street is closing on Saturday night.

Ann Arbor mainstay Circus Bar and 
Billiards to close over the weekend

Patrons reflect on nights of karaoke, pool and 25 cent beers ahead of final night

Thirsty patrons lined up 

for 25 cent beers as billiard 
balls clanked off one another, 
a 
solitary 
singer 
tackled 

Styx’s “Renegade” and people 
took selfies in the fun-house 
mirror, it was the beginning 
of a normal Wednesday night 
of debauchery, revelry and 
camraderie at Circus Bar & 
Billiards on South First Street. 

For Engineering graduate 

student 
Andrew 
Hartman, 

Circus was the ideal spot for 
him and his friends to spend 
an unusually quiet Wednesday 
night.

“It’s a very different vibe 

in having karaoke and the 
pool being the main focus,” 
Hartman said. “It is a fun place 
to be, you get to hang out with 
your friends, eat free popcorn 

and play pool.”

Yet, 
as 
DJ 
Pete 
took 

control of the microphone, 
he 
reminded 
the 
crowd 

that 
Circus, 
which 
has 

entertained college students, 
karaoke enthusiasts and pool 
sharks from Ann Arbor and 
Washtenaw County for over 20 
years, will be closing its doors 
for good on Saturday.

Circus, which occupies the 

third floor of a multi-story 
nightclub complex, shares a 
space with the Millennium 
Club on the second floor, and 
the Cavern Club on the first 
floor. The Cavern Club, which 
elementary-school 
teacher 

turned bar owner Nick Easton 
opened in 1997, was the first of 
the three clubs to occupy the 
building, with Circus the last 
to open. However, despite its 
recent popularity, Circus has 
recently been sold to buyers 
from New York.

Yet, as the Cavern Club 

became a venue for large 
groups to rent out and the 
Millennium Club a spot for 
those who wished to immerse 
themselves in a world of LED 
lights and disco balls, Circus 
possessed a more laid-back 
atmosphere 
that 
attracted 

swaths of groups.

To longtime bartender and 

former manager Race Rogers, 
Circus’ 
unique 
atmosphere 

allowed 
guests 
a 
diverse 

experience.

“Hundreds of people could 

come here in a night and 
socialize 
with 
each 
other 

without being segregated by 
tables or by segregated by too 
loud of music at the dance 
floor,” Rogers said. “This place 
really is just a place to come 
and hang out and it is one of 
the only places people can do 
that in Ann Arbor in that kind 
of social environment.”

With 
Circus’ 
karaoke 

attracting 
hundreds 
of 

people to the stage to sing 
along 
to 
their 
favorite 

tunes, Rogers feels there is a 
renewed need for a karaoke 
bar in Ann Arbor’s nightlife 
landscape.

“For at least five years, 

we have done karaoke at 
least four times a week 
and it is packed almost 
every night, with three to 
six hundred people every 
Friday and Saturday night,” 
Rogers said. “With that 
said, that means there will 
be a lot of people looking for 
a place to sing karaoke … as 
karaoke is a bonding thing 
to do on any given weekend 
night, as you go out with a 
group of friends and sing 
some ridiculous songs.”

For Rogers, on a more 

personal level, not only is 
Ann Arbor losing a karaoke 
club and bar, but he is losing 
a place that he has come 
to spend a large amount of 

TYLER COADY
Daily Staff Reporter

ON THE DAILY: SECRETARY OF STATE RAPS WITH KANGAROOS

The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the 
University OF Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office 
for $2. Subscriptions for September-April are $225 and year long subscriptions are $250. University affiliates are subject to a 
reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a 
member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press.

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See CIRCUS, Page 3

