Welcome back, Spartans.
As students move in, work and go to classes, East Lansing might look and feel the same as it did when most students left last spring.
The buildings look the same. The ducks are still here.
But a lot happened that students need to know about. Not only should returning students be reminded of local issues, but the incoming freshmen should be informed and become involved in the MSU and East Lansing community.
These changes will affect students not only this year, but throughout their college career.
The April 2-3 aftermath
On April 2, the Spartans men's basketball team lost to North Carolina in the Final Four. After the loss, students and police and riot gear clashed.
The officers allegedly shot tear-gas canisters, pepper-sprayed and assaulted students. Out of the police-estimated crowd of 3,000 people, 43 were arrested.
An independent commission was created to investigate the event. Although the commission met during the summer, the situation is still unresolved. Some East Lansificials admit actions taken by the city in April were overzealous, if not wrong. Even university organizations, such as Division of Student Affairs and Services, are defending the students victimized.
The melee will affect university policy in the future. The administration will be using that incident as a possible consequence of many other large-scale campus events.
Football tickets
Spartan football tickets have gone digital. Students who have purchased season tickets will no longer be provided with printed vouchers, but will have their tickets encoded onto their student identification cards.
The change was made in August, although university officials may not have fully realized the consequences.
Students who cannot attend games have no way of selling or giving away their tickets, which may result in lower attendance.
Policies that will enable students to give away unwanted tickets need to be created.
New provost
When MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon ascended to her position last year, her former provost seat was left vacant. The university received provost applicants from across the nation and selected Kim Wilcox.
Wilcox's approach is to interact with the students, which is a hard endeavor for a busy administrator. His personality, which is down-to-earth and conversational, makes him more accessible to students than many other higher-ups.
East Lansing City Council
Many of the people who live in East Lansing are students.
It would then make sense to have a student voice on the East Lansing City Council, which has yet to happen.
This year, East Lansing will have a council election with a student candidate, John Fournier. Not only does his record and education qualify him for the position, but he would bring a voice that represents a large demographic in East Lansing.
Even though many students aren't residents here, they still live here. The city needs to cater to them as well as the non-student population. No one knows a student's perspective better than a student.
