Unquestionably, the most-reported story of the past year was the race for the presidential election. It was a historic campaign, with the first female candidate to win primaries, the first woman Republican vice presidential nominee and the first black president-elect of the United States.

In the end, Barack Obama soundly defeated his Republican opponent, Arizona Sen. John McCain, with a message of change and heightened attention to young and disenfranchised voters.

“He didn’t disregard them the way others had done,” said Georg Schuttler, president of MSU College Democrats. “People really responded to that.”

With a little more than a month before Obama takes office, there is still much work to be done. He has begun appointing cabinet members — including former rival Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., as Secretary of State — and unveiling the policies that will carry him into the Oval Office. But with an economic crisis looming over his presidency, Obama’s appeal on the campaign trail is not enough. He will have to prove to the American people that he is the change they were looking for.

Men’s soccer

After 32 years as head coach of the MSU men’s soccer team, Joe Baum announced at the beginning of the 2008 season that it would be his last at the reins of the program.

When his players heard the news, they began a mission to make Baum’s last year the most memorable to date.

And they were able to do just that.

The Spartans won the regular season Big Ten title for the first time in program history and the Big Ten Tournament for the second time.

After a strong regular season and tournament showing, the Spartans were awarded a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and received a bye in the first round of the Big Dance. They lost to Illinois-Chicago 0-1 in the second round.

Baum has had time to reflect on his tenure as head coach and the way this year’s team sent him out on top.

“The timing was perfect this year,” Baum said. “I wasn’t sad and I just felt like things were settled in as they should be. I’ve enjoyed my run and I’m very proud of these players.”

Football

In 2008, the MSU football team returned to the national scene.

After nine seasons of disappointments, failed expectations and New Year’s Days spent watching football on TV, the Spartans announced their resurgence with a 9-3 record and a likely Jan. 1 bowl game.

On the legs of senior running back Javon Ringer, the arm of senior quarterback Brian Hoyer and the strength of a stingy defense, MSU pulled out close games and knocked off hated rival Michigan. While MSU has celebrated its return to prominence, head coach Mark Dantonio is looking forward to Big Ten titles in the near future.

“Our goal is to win championships,” Dantonio said after MSU’s final game of the regular season. “That will always be our goal and we’ll try and tier up to get there … 9-3 is a great football season and we took two steps forward from last year.”

Facility for Rare Isotope Beams

The future of MSU’s Cyclotron could rest on a single decision from the U.S. Department of Energy.

For the past several months, MSU has been campaigning to be the location of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, a research center that would examine unique nuclei not usually found on Earth.

The facility’s research could lead to new knowledge about the origin of the universe and lead to advancements in fields including medicine and national security.

But MSU faces competition from Department of Energy-funded Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois for the rights to the facility.

Monica Fineis, a spokeswoman for MSU’s FRIB Student Advisory Committee, said bringing FRIB to MSU is important for the future of the Cyclotron.

If the university wins, the new facility will bring about 5,800 temporary construction jobs and 300 research jobs to the state. If MSU loses, the Cyclotron could be forced to shut down.

“Without this advancement, our funding is running out in the next few years,” she said. “The lab could really go under.”

A decision is expected to be made before the year is out.

Cedar Fest

When police completely ban a semi-annual block party for several years, they usually have a reason.

That reason became very clear April 5, when a revival of the popular 1970s and ’80s party known as Cedar Fest went sour, prompting police to end the riot with tear gas and arrest warrants.

What started as a Facebook.com group calling for students to bring back Cedar Fest, ended with dozens of arrests and tickets, school suspensions for many involved students, and months of investigation and court dates that still haven’t ended. As of Thursday, five sentencings had been scheduled and three more court cases still awaited scheduling.

For some, the biggest question remaining in the aftermath of Cedar Fest is whether it will happen again this spring.

East Lansing police said they’ll be doing everything in their power to make sure the answer is no.

“All anyone has to do is look at the punishments that were handed out to those who were responsible,” East Lansing police Lt. Kevin Daley said. “I’d hope that’s enough.”

The economy

As early as January, experts were warning of a stock market crash. Those prophecies were fulfilled in September, when the stocks fell steeply and the nation’s financial sector faced bankruptcies, mergers and business collapses.

When it became clear that the problem was more than just a blip on the radar, lawmakers scrambled to approve a $700 billion bailout package to stabilize the market.

Michigan became a big player in the crisis when the Big Three auto companies — General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., and Chrysler LLC, announced that its financial struggles threatened the fate of the U.S. auto industry.

For the past several weeks, Michigan lawmakers and auto lobbyists have been negotiating with Congress in hopes of obtaining a loan to keep the Big Three afloat.

“It’s important for the entire country,” said Liz Boyd, a spokeswoman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm. “The auto industry supplies millions of jobs across this nation. I don’t think anyone can envision our nation without a manufacturing sector.”

Welcome Week

University officials threw a wrench at MSU students’ back-to-school traditions last spring with a proposal to shorten Welcome Week in an effort to reduce partying.

For some students, Welcome Week is just an excuse for a four-day drinking binge, supporters of the proposal argued.

But for freshmen, the extended weekend serves as an opportunity to explore campus and settle in before classes begin the following Monday.

Next year, that will change. Under the new schedule, freshmen will move into the dorms on Sunday and all other students can move in on Monday. Classes will begin Wednesday.

Provost Kim Wilcox said officials are in the process of planning how the change will affect the entire academic year.

“We’ve made the decision on dates, now we’re working on the structure,” he said.

Next year, classes will begin Sept. 2. This year, classes began Aug. 25.

Red Wings championship

There’s a reason Detroit is known as Hockey Town.

The Detroit Red Wings extended their national championship count to four Stanley Cups in the past 11 years with a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in June.

Although it didn’t take place at MSU, it was the state’s only National Championship in a major sport this year, and even though the winners weren’t wearing the Spartans head, MSU students who hail from Michigan still viewed it as a victory for the home team.

“I thought it was great,” hospitality business and philosophy senior Dominic Sawaya said. “It’s great the Red Wings are doing it if the other teams are lacking.”

Staff writers Jacob Carpenter and Alex DiFilippo contributed to this report.