Brian Manzullo

(Click the thumbnails on the right to check out Central Michigan Life’s special Year in Review section for the year 2008. Files are in PDF format.)

Whoever said that the only constant things in life are death and taxes forgot about end-of-the-year retrospectives. In keeping with the tradition, this Central Michigan Life special section is an over-the-shoulder glance at 2008 in all its historic and depressing glory.

The election dominated the year, but while the nation’s attention was held by fascinating new public figures and the promise of change, people at Central Michigan University and around Mount Pleasant rolled with the economic punches.

Walking through the crush of students on campus, most happily chatting with friends on a cell phone, it’s easy to forget that some of them have parents at home who lost thousands when the stock market tanked in September. Or, have aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters in the auto industry constantly in fear of losing their job.

But 2008 was not all economic doom and gloom. After passing $4, gas prices fell low enough for us to afford to drive again.

Hollywood came out of a slump with some epic diversions and state film incentives that have already drawn some exciting projects to Michigan. A-list actor Owen Wilson portrayed CMU alumnus John Grogan in a movie based off of Grogan’s best-selling book “Marley & Me.”

It was a good year for Democrats, with big gains in Congress and the executive branch. Michigan voters approved progressive measures in support of stem cell research and medical marijuana.

Central continued to experience growling pains associated with being Michigan’s fourth largest state university. The Board of Trustees approved the development of a medical school and faculty locked horns with administrators during some tense contract negotiations.

The much-ballyhooed football team was brought back to earth after ending the season with three straight losses. But not all Chippewas followed suit: the wrestling team scored more points than ever before at the NCAA national tournament.

And CMU’s reputation for instruction remains so good that a deer even tried to attend class one day in June.

So, as we tiptoe into 2009 on eggshells, grumbling about the cost of textbooks and the juggle of homework, social life and a job, remember the old adage that what doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger. Someday, we might just look back and remember 2008 as one of the most important year’s of our life.

E-mail the author: defaultuser