A farewell to 'U'

Highs and lows mark 1997-98

From murder on campus to two NCAA hockey championships, members of the outgoing senior class have experienced a plentiful share of emotional and memorable campus events.

But what will most seniors leave Ann Arbor remembering?

A trip to the Rose Bowl.

"I met my current boyfriend on the plane going out to the Rose Bowl," said LSA senior Fiona Rose, former Michigan Student Assembly president. "The Rose Bowl was significant for all of the seniors because we have been waiting for four years ... it's

MARGARET MYERS/Daily A loyal Wolverine fan supports Michigan football at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

exciting for all of us to be national champions."

LSA senior Jennifer Leavitt said it is difficult to pinpoint one specific event that bound the senior class together, but a recent trip to Pasadena is probably the most memorable.

"The Rose Bowl was just a great way to go out," Leavitt said.

Several students said the game gave students a chance to come together outside of Ann Arbor.

"It was a national event and a lot of seniors took the opportunity to go out to California together," said LSA senior Jill Manske.

Student commencement speaker Jason Mandel said his speech will address the transition students must face after graduation.

"It's about the realization that the best four years of your life are over and the rest of your life doesn't have to be a downturn from that high point," said Mandel, a Business senior.

Beyond largely publicized events, Mandel said close friends will be the most prominent memory for graduates.

What seniors will remember most is "the last time you really spend a full night with your closest friends," Mandel said.

The impact of two lawsuits filed against the University this past year that challenge the University's use of race as a factor in admissions has taught many lessons to graduating seniors.

Leavitt said affirmative action "has been a theme of the year, and that's reflected in the commencement speaker."

Rose said the issues of affirmative action, along with the 10-percent increase in undergraduate applications for Fall 1998, will be something many graduates think about as they enter the workforce.

"I think admissions is important to many of us, more the process than the numbers," Rose said. "For seniors, especially those moving into the workplace ... understanding what's going on in our own University is crucial."

Manske said she hopes activism will remain a part of graduates' lives after they leave the University campus.

"I hope people will continue activism and interest wherever they go into the real world," Manske said.

Many students said the deaths of LSA senior Tamara Williams and Michigan wrestler Jefferey Reese last semester will remain sobering reminders of life, but will not stay in the forefront of most students' memories.

"I think people in the long run remember more of the positive things," said LSA senior Carrie Horn. "Of course, people will remember some of the bad things that come along with our accomplishments."

Mandel said student deaths will not be remembered as prominently as events like the Michigan football national championship.

"I think that with some of the amazing highs this year, that will be overshadowed a bit," Mandel said.

Despite the variety and extreme nature of all the events that have occurred in the past four years, no one event has truly bonded the senior class, Horn said.

"Nothing ever quite brings the senior class together," Horn said. "There are things like Diag Days today and tomorrow, but I think making seniors days every day of the semester would bring (the class) together."

MALLORY S.E. FLOYD/Daily University President Lee Bollinger shakes hands with a spectator after his September inauguration. Bollinger is the 12th president of the University.

04-21-98