Crisler Center
Michigan
basketball
sports
its own dedicated and zealous
student section — the Maize
Rage. Though the Maize Rage
also participates in various other
sporting events, it’s primarily
associated
with
Michigan
basketball and is the only student
section affiliated with the athletic
department.
Zach
Linfield,
Kinesiology
senior and designated Maize
Rage “Superfan,” which is an
official
representative
of
the
Maize Rage to U-M students, told
The Daily his job is to coordinate
with the seven-person executive
board to help lead the student
section during games. Linfield
said he helps begin chants and
encourages students to be as loud
as possible.
“Our job is to make (the
Crisler Center) an intimidating
environment for the opponents
to play in and to rally behind our
guys,” Linfield said.
Aside from the typical songs
and chants that characterize a
U-M sporting event, Linfield said
he enjoys traditions that involve
both the team and the student
section.
Leaving
campus
soon
as
a
graduating University of Michigan
student or an Ann Arbor resident? Wait!
Before you go, make sure to revisit these
campus traditions by clicking on each
location below. Read about topics such
as the history of the Diag’s block ‘M’
to which places you should visit before
Ann Arbor becomes a part of your past.
The Michigan Daily’s Campus Life beat
has found nine locations to visit around
campus before you leave.
Farmers Market
Open all year long, community
members flock to the Ann Arbor
Farmers Market to buy local produce,
baked goods, flowers, jams and
other artisanal goods. Located in the
Kerrytown neighborhood, the market
is adjacent to Sweetwaters Coffee &
Tea and Kerrytown Market & Shops,
all you could need on a Saturday
afternoon is right there.
Gracias’ Greenhouse is a family-
centered business which sells flowers
at the market every week. Gracias’
Greenhouse has been a vendor at the
Market since the 1950s and also sells
their florals at the Royal Oak Farmers
Market, the Northville Farmers
Market and the Eastern Market.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Ann Arbor hotspots and UMich traditions to check out before graduation
CAMPUS LIFE
The Daily’s Campus Life beat mapped out nine locations around the city to visit
Wednesday, April 12, 2023 — 3
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The Block M
There’s a place on campus that has
seen the highs and lows of student life.
Left untouched despite heavy traffic in
the 10 minutes between classes, the block
‘M’ on the Diag has remained virtually
unchanged since its installation. A
pillar of the campus community, its
bronze cover, now turning green with
age, has seen candlelit vigils, countless
protests and the roars of students
coming together for Diag snowball
fights. Despite all of this, students still
avoid directly stepping on the block
‘M’, adhering to the superstition that
stepping on it means failing your first
blue book exam. The Michigan Daily set
out to ask the following question: Is there
truth to the legend?
The block ‘M’ has only adorned the
Diag for 70 years. Installed on May 8,
1953, to replace a previous brick design,
the block ‘M’ was presented to former
University President Harlan Hatcher on
three days later as a gift to the University
from the class of 1953. When presenting
the block ‘M,’ John Flynn, chairman
of the Senior Board, told The Daily
freshmen were prohibited from stepping
on it until they completed one full year
of school. Just a few years later, 1958
orientation leaders were warning new
students against ever stepping on the
block ‘M’ before an exam.
The Rock
On the corner of Washtenaw
Avenue and Hill Streets sits
the Michigan Rock. Covered
in years of various types of
paints, “The Rock” is a remnant
of one of Michigan’s glacial
periods, having originally been
deposited by glaciers on the
Pontiac Trail.
The Rock was moved to
Ann Arbor in 1932 to become
a memorial honoring George
Washington’s 200th birthday.
Though
it
was
originally
painted gray, the Rock has since
been continuously painted over
by students and community
members looking to make their
(temporary) mark.
The tradition of painting
the Rock began in 1953 when a
resident of Ann Arbor graffitied
a Michigan State University
logo on the Rock right before the
week of a rivalry football game.
To show their solidarity with
the University of Michigan,
some U-M students decided to
paint over the logo, leading to
the tradition of covering the
Rock with different paintings
significant to the Ann Arbor
community.
Gallup Park
Just a 10-minute drive from Shinola
is Gallup Park, one of Ann Arbor’s
most popular recreational spots. The
park, located along the Huron River
and Geddes Pond, boasts breathtaking
walkways that meander through small
islands and connect via pedestrian
bridges, forming a delightful loop for
visitors to explore.At the boat rental
office, visitors can find amenities
like food and drinks, outdoor seating
by the river, and complimentary
wireless internet access. The park
offers a range of recreational facilities,
including playgrounds, rentals for
water activities, picnic spots with grills
throughout the area and over three
miles of smooth trails that are well-
liked by cyclists, rollerbladers, walkers
and runners.
Engineering
sophomore
Sandy
Chang shared her kayaking experience
last summer. She said she knew about
the park from people’s kayaking posts
on Instagram and decided to go with
friends before the fall semester and she
likes the environment of the park as it is.
“I think the rates for kayaking were
pretty reasonable,” Chang said. “The
river was wide and well preserved.
The water was pretty clean and there
were a lot of ducks, butterflies, and
all other sorts of natural creatures. I
would definitely do it again during the
summer or just visit in general for an
afternoon stroll.”