By Katie Abdilla
Last updated: 05/01/13 5:21pm
In light of commencement ceremonies across the country right around the corner, Kiplinger.com has released its list of best cities to live in as a graduate.
The website based its list on the quantity of well-paying jobs, along with affordable living costs and a lively social scene. They factored in low unemployment rates, and researched high concentrations of young adults age 20 and above through the Census Bureau.
This year, a total of 10 cities made the cut, with Salt Lake City falling into the number one spot because of its below-average living cost and above-average pay. The city also boasts exciting entertainment events such as the Sundance Film Festival in nearby Park City, Utah.
Seattle took the 10th spot, with nearly 15 percent of its population dominated by twenty-somethings.
However, its cost of living ranged about 23 percent more than the national average, possibly explaining its rank at the bottom of the list.
Washington, D.C. also cracked the list, taking the eighth spot. Although the cost of living is nearly 30 percent higher than the national average, the median salary for college graduates ranks around $46,000 per year.
Surprisingly, Anchorage, Alaska made the list at number five with one of the highest salaries to college grads on the list at $47,600 a year.
Several other cities hail in the western half of the nation, such as Phoenix, San Diego, Houston and Dallas. But much to the dismay of many Spartans, Ann Arbor ranks just below Salt Lake City at number two. The site acknowledges Ann Arbor’s extensive nightlife, college feel and availability of high-paying jobs as responsible.
By Samantha Radecki
Last updated: 04/21/13 10:30pm
With the help of their mothers, MSU squirrels are fit for campus survival.
According to a press release, a recent study led by researchers from MSU and the University of Guelph in Canada showed how female squirrels can improve their babies’ survival odds by increasing how fast the offspring will develop.
The researchers discovered that squirrel mothers use social cues to prepare their young for the world outside beyond the nest and confirmed that red squirrel mothers will experience increased production levels of stress hormones during pregnancy. This allows the offspring to grow larger and gives them a greater survival chance.
“Natural selection favors faster-growing offspring, and female red squirrels react accordingly to increase their pups’ chances of survival,” said Ben Dantzer, who was formerly associated with MSU’s Department of Zoology. “Surprisingly, squirrels could produce these faster growing offspring even though they didn’t have access to additional food resources.”
Dantzer now is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
The researchers derived part of their study from the 22-year-long Kluane Red Squirrel Project, which studies North American red squirrels in the Yukon Territory in Canada.
The National Science Foundation partly funded the research.
By Samantha Radecki
Last updated: 04/07/13 8:07pm
As India has been rocked with some recent incidents of the sexual assault of young women, it has been reported that some Indian college students decided to create something to try to avert it and protect themselves.
According to Fox News, the team of students has created some “shocking” lingerie, which will literally shock an attacker if they are trying to sexually assault the woman wearing it.
“A person trying to molest a girl will get the shock of his life the moment pressure sensors get activated,” co-developer and SRM University student Manisha Mohan said in the report.
The students said the bra can send out a 3,800 kV shock wave and can notify police with a location. The inside of the bra has polymer lining, to protect the woman from being shocked.
Sexual assault is a problem not uncommon at MSU.
According to the MSU Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, one in five college-aged women and one in 20 college-aged men will be sexually assaulted during their time on campus.
In February, the office hosted a sexual assault symposium on campus to educate individuals on how to protect themselves and others from sexual assault at MSU.
“It’s not, ‘What I can do to protect myself?’ (It’s), ‘What can we do to protect each other?” psychology professor Rebecca Campbell said at the event.
By Samantha Radecki
Last updated: 03/28/13 9:36pm
The discovery of a two-headed bull shark tops the list as one of MSU’s most recent discoveries.
According to a press release, assistant professor of fisheries and wildlife Michael Wagner confirmed the first discovery of dicephalia in a bull shark, or bull shark with two heads rather than being two conjoined twin sharks.
“This is certainly one of those interesting and rarely detected phenomena,” Wagner said in the release. “It’s good that we have this documented as part of the world’s natural history, but we’d certainly have to find many more before we could draw any conclusions about what caused this.”
The shark was originally found in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2011. Wagner made his conclusion with other scientists at the Florida Keys Community College in Key West, Fla. The shark since has been transported to MSU.
He said this is a rather odd case because most animals with deformities die shortly after they are born.
“You’ll see many more cases of two-headed lizards and snakes,” he said. “That’s because those organisms are often bred in captivity, and the breeders are more likely to observe the anomalies.”
By Brytanie Killebrew
Last updated: 03/17/13 5:33pm
On Tuesday, March 19, MSU students will have the opportunity to interact with big-name retail corporations during the first ever Retail Connect.
The two hour event put on by the Career Services & Placement and the College of Business will be held in the Huntington Club room on the fourth floor of Spartan Stadium.
Retail connect is open to all students, free of charge, and grantees students the opportunity to interview with business including Target, Macy’s, Buckle and event sponsor Kohls.
While the event will include a break-out session, case study exercise and networking opportunities, Career Services Field Career Consultant Karin Hanson said Retail Connect is not to be confused with a career fair.
By Robert Bondy
Last updated: 03/11/13 4:35pm
The Council of Graduate Students, or COGS, received a lot of interested graduate and professional students in their upcoming Detroit Tigers reduced game benefit, COGS President Stefan Fletcher
confirmed today.
The April 7th baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees tickets COGS were selling as part of Graduate Professional Student Appreciation Week sold out within 15 minutes this morning, Fletcher confirmed through email.
Tickets for the baseball game went on sale this morning at 10 a.m. with any graduate and professional student eligible for to purchase the tickets.
Tickets were being sold on the COGS website at $18 per
ticket.
The ticket included free transportation to and back from Detroit.
The trip to the baseball game is one of many events that are a part of National Graduate Professional Student Appreciation Week in April.
By Robert Bondy
Last updated: 02/25/13 6:52pm
The Council of Graduate Students, or COGS, have announced multiple events coming up in the next few months, including a charity volleyball tournament and discounted Detroit Tigers baseball tickets.
COGS will co-host a charity volleyball tournament with the InterFraternity Council, Panhellenic Council and Graduate Student Life and Wellness on March 30.
The tournament will run from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at IM West.
The entree fee for the tournament is $10 per person, with the proceedings from the event going toward the Special Olympics of Michigan
“The volleyball tournament is another way in which COGS and the Greek
community can continue to collaborate in ways that is beneficial to a broad audience,” COGS President Stefan Fletcher said in the press release. “I think IFC and PC should be applauded for their continued
philanthropic efforts and their ongoing and long-standing partnership with MSU advanced degree students.”
COGS also will be working with the Council of Medical Students, selling discounted Detroit Tigers tickets at a price of $18 for graduate and professional students. The $18 ticket fee will cover transportation to and back from Comerica Park.
The event will be on April 7 when the Tigers take on the New York Yankees.
The trip to the baseball game is one of many events that are a part of National Graduate & Professional Student Appreciation Week in April.
Tickets for the game officially will go on sale on March 11 at 10 a.m. with students able to purchase the tickets on the COGS website.
By Simon Schuster
Last updated: 02/21/13 8:07pm
On Thursday two of the major providers of online courses, edX and Coursera, announced they would be expanding their program to approximately double the amount of courses they offer.
This comes at a time when the market for Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, is growing exponentially.
But as the field of available MOOCs quickly expands to global audience, the process has not been without road bumps.
Coursera, for one, experienced a hilarious snag when the Georgia Institute of Technology course “Fundamentals of Online Education” was taken off the internet after experiencing technical difficulties.
Yet despite all the appeal of a free, high-quality education online, some of the largest open courses still lose almost 90 percent of their students throughout the duration of the course.
The challenge facing pedagogical experts today lies not in how to distributes the MOOCs, but in how to ensure students stay involved and engaged in their online educations.
By Christine LaRouere
Last updated: 02/20/13 9:18pm
The debate of whether students should be allowed to practice religion in public places continues to go on across the country.
However, Muslim students from Parkdale High School in Maryland now are allowed to walk out of class to pray if they have parent permission and stable grades, according to The Washington Post.
In the article, the principle of the high school, Cheryl Logan, said this was the best way to accommodate their Muslim students.
“I’ve been real happy with how we’ve been able to deal with it without it becoming an issue,” Logan said to The Washington Post.
One of the many religious groups at MSU includes the MSU Muslim Students’ Association, or MSUMSA.
On the group’s website, it says there is no excuse to not pray.
One of the support services the group provides is tips for students to fit in their 5 prayer times throughout the day across various parts of campus.
The website mentions MSU’s prayer room in Anthony Hall as a great resource because it also provides prayer rugs and beads.
The Washington Post also talked to Charles Haynes, director of the Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum, and an expert who writes and speaks on religious liberty and religion in American public life.
In the article, he said that it would be better to keep the practicing of religion the same for all students and the decision of which Muslim students get to pray could cause problems.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Haynes said in the article.
By Robert Bondy
Last updated: 02/18/13 4:58pm
MSU now is accepting applicants for the 2013-14 Homecoming Court, according to MSU Today.
Students who are interested in applying as being apart of the Homecoming Court can apply at the MSU Alumni Association page online.
Here are the guidelines for students interested in applying for one of
the 10 spots:
-Must be a full-time MSU student who has 90 or more credits, or senior
status, before Aug. 28, 2013.
-Must have and maintain a 2.5 grade point average.
-Must be in good academic, legal and disciplinary standing.
-Must be in East Lansing, Mich. during the 2013 fall semester.
The application is due no later then 5 p.m. on March 21, with the online application, uploaded resume, letter of notification and response to three questions and a hard copy of the signed Homecoming Court release form.
No late applications will be considered in the process.
Students who represent leadership, spirit, integrity and achievement qualities are encouraged to apply for a position on Homecoming court.
Being selected as one of ten to represent more than 40,000 MSU students is considered one of the top honors an MSU senior can earn, according to MSU Today.
