Gina Salazar had the crowd going wild on Friday night while she sang karaoke to Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine”s “Conga.” However, this scene did not occur at the typical Ann Arbor bar, but at Michigras as part of Siblings Weekend 2001.
- Paul Wong
- Sagar Shah leaps onto his brother, Engineering junior Aashish Shah, while sumo wrestling at Michigras on Friday.<br><br>BRETT MOUNTAIN/Daily
“She had the place going crazy. They had the lights flashing and everybody was doing the conga,” said Engineering sophomore Josh Salazar of his 9-year-old sister.
Siblings Weekend co-director Alexandra Koester said the Residence Hall Association, which sponsored the event, registered 183 students for the weekend”s festivities, about the same numbers as last year”s Siblings Weekend.
The weekend offered students a unique opportunity to spend time with their siblings at the University, said LSA freshman Ivey Adelman.
“Normally it would be pretty weird to have my 10-year-old brother come and stay with me,” Adelman said. “It was nice to have a time that I could bring a younger sibling up.”
David, Adelman”s younger brother, said his favorite part of the weekend was Pinball Pete”s Arcade and Japanese Culture Day, which was put on by the Japanese Culture Club.
The weekend was especially significant for the University”s out-of-state students who are rarely able to return home to see family members, said Engineering freshman Sarah Elgin.
“You get a chance to spend quality time with your sibling especially since I live out of state,” Elgin said.
Eric Elgin, 12, said he was excited to see a Michigan hockey game at Yost Ice Arena, adding that he has never missed a game when the Wolverines visit his native Minnesota.
“I”ve never been to a game at Yost and it was really cool,” Elgin added. “We were in the fourth row.”
Kinesiology sophomore Elizabeth Heyn and her younger sister Lauren, 15, spent the weekend watching movies, shopping, and going out to eat.
“It makes me really appreciate the time she is here. She is a good friend,” Elizabeth Heyn said.
Lauren Heyn said she really enjoyed Ann Arbor”s atmosphere.
“I liked how friendly everybody is here and how many pizza places there are here,” Lauren Heyn said.
The weekend had some minor glitches. Some participants said they were upset that events at the Kelsey Museum of Archeology and the planetarium show at the Museum of Natural History were limited only to 30 participants.
Others complained about the cancellation of the Species Survival Center event, which would have featured many exotic animals.
Despite the setbacks, Koester said she still believes Siblings Weekend was a success.
“I think that a lot of people brought their sibs to campus not to do the activities but to show them what their college lives are like,” Koester said.