SHORT TAKES : Alumna Madonna: No Big Deal

ROCHESTER, Mich. — Madonna’s untamed look once drew stares from classmates at Rochester Adams High School, but today’s students at her alma mater seem unimpressed that she’s back in town for two concerts.

“The kids that are here and are 14 years old were born the year she graduated,” said Nancy Ryan-Mitchell, who was Madonna Louise Ciccone’s counselor. “To these kids, though they know she’s from the community and the school, it doesn’t touch them personally.”

Madonna will perform Thursday and Friday at The Palace in Auburn Hills, a Detroit suburb.

Five years ago, when her “Virgin Tour” came to Detroit, the students adorned a bulletin board with memorabilia hailing the alumna-turned-pop star.

Madonna was an unconventional student in her senior year, drawing attention for wearing little makeup and not shaving her underarms.

“She had a real European kind of attitude, a real cosmopolitan flair,” said Tim Lentz, Madonna’s choir teacher. “She dared to be different.”