Economy shmashmonomy. While some economists are “optimistic” things will improve in the future, most agree that any improvement will be from bad to, well, less bad. Michigan is in the unlucky group of states that has been hit particularly hard by the Great Recession. Near the end of the last decade, Michigan had the highest unemployment rate of any state in the union at 15 percent. But hey, there’s always grad school or Teach for America.

The decline of a giant. What was once arguably the center of the world’s auto market came crashing down at the tail end of the decade. While there may still have been a chicken in every pot, there certainly wasn’t a Ford in every driveway. Years from now, Obama’s decision to bail out the automakers may go down as one of the most pivotal decisions of his administration. Some saw the bailout as a necessity to keep the economy afloat, while others felt it slapped the free market in the face. Like a neon pink broad-tipped marker, the bailout put a highlight on the financial and employment troubles for the state of Michigan and the country.

Obama. Period. Nov. 4, 2008 saw what was undoubtedly the most historic presidential election to date. What made it even cooler was the fact that for most University students, it was the first election we had been eligible to vote in, and everyone loves to be part of an historic event. When the election was called and Barack Obama was named the 44th president of the United States, the streets of Ann Arbor were flooded with his supporters celebrating both the victory and the significance of the first Black president-elect. Though Obama has come under criticism lately, we’re curious to see what he does next and the kind of impact he will undoubtedly have going into this new decade.

Terrorist Attacks. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the last few years have been marred by countless stories of terrorist attacks. There’s no denying it: terrorism, and the fear that ensued, was a huge part of our lives during the decade, all the way up to the final week, when Omar Farouk Abdulmuttallab tried to blow up a plane as it began its descent toward Detroit Metro Airport on Christmas day. And though airport security has undoubtedly increased in response to these attacks, it’s hard to say if it’s actually gotten any better.

Operation Iraqi Freedom. No war has so divided the country like the current one in Iraq since the United States’ involvement in Vietnam in the 1960s. Under the orders of President Bush, a multinational force led by the United States and the United Kingdom invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003under the claim that the country possessed weapons of mass destruction. Though evidence of WMDs has yet to be discovered, our troops remain oversees with American military casualties exceeding 4,300. While there have been talks of troop withdrawal, action has yet to be taken. Whether you agree with the war or not, everyone has an opinion and will be watching for Obama’s next move in Iraq.

It’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine ... sometimes. The aughts have been some of the most tumultuous years in Michigan football history. Under Lloyd Carr, the Wolverines went 73-27 in regular season games. Then the team lost to Appalachian State. During the 2007 Capital One Bowl, Carr’s Wolverines handedly defeated the Florida Gators, the previous year’s national champions. And then came Rich Rodriguez, the electrifying spread offense and hopes of landing Terrelle Pryor, who was going to lead Michigan football to glory after he threw for a thousand yards against the Buckeyes and won the Big Ten four years in a row. But Pryor never arrived, reality soon set in, and under Rich Rod the team went a dismal 8-16 in two seasons, arguably the worst stretch in Michigan football history. Here’s to twenty ten, and the hope that Rodriguez will find his stride in the new decade. If not, we might see some “Rich Rod wears Uggs” T-shirts in the near future.

Civil Rights Initiative. At one time, the state of Michigan believed in diversity, and allowed its public universities to practice affirmative action. Then in Nov. 2006, Michigan voters passed the statewide Civil Rights Initiative, or Proposal 2, forcing state universities to do away with race-based admission practices. The University, always priding itself on its diverse student body, suddenly saw a seven percent decrease in the number of minority students admitted. The most recent freshmen class saw an 11.4 percent drop in minority enrollment from the previous year.

The new kid on the block. Although the election of Barack Obama as the first black president of the United States will undoubtedly go down as some of the biggest news of the last decade, the University community had one of its own presidential firsts.