Ann Arbor's atmosphere makes the 'U' unique

They range from "I've always loved the football team" to "Well, I didn't get into Cornell."

What makes these answers humorous to me is the one that no one ever gives, but is the main reason for people staying here if not coming in the first place - Ann Arbor.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. Ann Arbor is nothing more than a city built around the glutinous needs of a college students. A small midwestern city, stuck in the middle of nowhere and saved from obscurity by the decision of lawmakers to move the University from Detroit so many years ago.

Chris Metinko Chris Cross

Well, you're right to a certain extent, and wrong to a greater extent.

Ann Arbor, to most of you, will be a far stretch from where you grew up and lived. It isn't The City. (For those not familiar with the term, The City stands for New York City, not Traverse City. It goes along with that whole NYC is the be all and end all of life' mentality so many New Yorkers seem to have.)

It also isn't Grand Rapids. And it's nowhere in between. It is, in the fall, one of the most beautiful places on Earth with the collage of colors spreading out over every inch of the city from the leaves on the trees.

It is also when you open your door to eight feet of snow you have to trudge through to get to your 8:00 a.m. class - otherwise known as one of the most depressing places on Earth.

There are great places to eat (i.e. Gratzi) and many more places that seem like not so great places to eat but really are (i.e. Fleetwood Diner).

There are great places to hear live music in, like the Blind Pig and Birds of Paradise.

Even the grocery store here is great. Meijer may be the only place in the world where you can go at 2:00 a.m. and buy a six pack and a hamster and it would be completely legal.

And if you like coffee, this is heaven with cafes around every corner.

Ann Arbor could also be the only city in this country with a police force that is willing to sit idly by and watch 1,000 drunk students run through its streets naked on an April night.

However, as with any city, there are problems. If you're thinking of bringing a car - don't. There is no place to put it. A parking pass is equivalent to gold in this city.

There is also that annoying weather problem. There are times when you look across the city's landscape and believe this is the place where snow drifts go to die.

At least however, it isn't like New Haven or Ithaca, where it's so overcast and dark, students have an overwhelming desire to take their own lives.

The biggest problem I see with Ann Arbor is that a majority of students don't take advantage of what it has to offer. Their world is that huge block of land between North and South U. and State Street.

And, if the truth be known, technically everything you need is on that square block of buildings. You have all the necessities, shelter, food and yes, the most important thing, academics.

But if you want any of these things on a real level, you have to leave the comforts of the good old University. Actually, if you want to do anything in your life that's worth doing, you're going to have to leave eventually anyway.

Maybe I like Ann Arbor because it offered me a refuge. It was the first place where I was entirely responsible for myself.

Or maybe I just truly like it. Whatever the reason, I'm not soon to forget it. Hopefully, you're not soon to leave it, either.

Last year, before the Naked Mile, a television reporter was on the air, describing the ritual to probably a million open-mouthed mothers across the greater Detroit area.

He ended the broadcast saying, "Only in Ann Arbor, only in Ann Arbor." Normally, I don't like to agree with television journalists, but in this case, he stole the words right from my pen.

- Chris Metinko is a Daily news editor. He can be reached via email at cmetinkz@umich.edu.

09-08-98