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South Asian student groups to hold vigil for Indian rape victims

Lilly Keyes

January 30, 2013

When the sun sets in her hometown of Karachi, Pakistan, Yusra Jafferany, president of the South Asian sorority Sigma Sigma Rho, said she would never think of going anywhere alone. Hearing about the brutal December gang rape and murder of Jyoti Singh Pandey in New Delhi, which made international headlines, only reinforced her fears. By holding a candlelight vigil in remembrance of Pandey at 8 p.m. Thursday at the rock on Farm Lane, Sigma Sigma Rho and the Coalition of Indian Undergraduate Students, or CIUS, hope to raise awareness not only of Pandey’s story, but of domestic violence as a global issue that affects people across the globe.

MSU

MSU competing in state-wide Gift of Life Campus Challenge

Alex McClung

January 30, 2013

Although many MSU students try to give back to the community through service and philanthropy, one student group wants Spartans to donate a little more than just their time. The Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostic Student Association, or BLDSA, is competing in the Gift of Life Campus Challenge. The competition pits colleges across Michigan against one another to see who can get the most students to register with Michigan’s organ and tissue donor registry. As of Wednesday night, Wayne State University was ahead of MSU by almost 200 registrants with MSU in second place overall. Jaya Gupta, BLDSA’s Gift of Life coordinator, said the goal of the competition is to increase the number of donors on Michigan’s registry. “It will potentially allow for more people who are in need of organs to potentially be reached,” said Gupta, a biomedical laboratory science senior. The competition, which began Jan. 10 and will be completed Feb. 21, awards two trophies. One trophy is granted to the school who gets the most people to register. The other goes to the university who signs up the largest percentage of its student body, Gupta said.

MSU

Simon discusses revised plan for MSU

Samantha Radecki

January 29, 2013

On Tuesday morning, President Lou Anna K. Simon met with university administrators, officials and student leaders to speak about the new initiatives of her revised strategic plan for the university — Bolder by Design.

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Event promotes Vietnamese culture

Lilly Keyes

January 29, 2013

Tuesday evening, the normally quiet basement of Holden Hall was filled with students running laps through the brightly colored hallways, laughing and screaming while toting 25-pound bags of rice. “I have a cramp,” Vietnamese Student Association, or VSA, member Adam Lam yelled as he fanned himself and sprinted to reach his partner. “I’m going to need to take a shower.”

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MSU’s Flint medical campus expanding into downtown

Samantha Radecki

January 29, 2013

At last Friday’s Board of Trustees meeting, the trustees unanimously approved plans for MSU’s College of Human Medicine, or CHM, to pursue a lease with Uptown Reinvestment Corporation, or URC, and expand the college’s Flint campus to the former site of The Flint Journal.

MSU

ASMSU pursues cheaper textbooks, fitness

Robert Bondy  and  Christine LaRouere

January 28, 2013

At last week’s ASMSU general meeting, MSU undergraduate student government representatives voted on many bills ranging from greek life to the Union.

MSU

Campus fuel station to be moved before 2015

Samantha Radecki

January 28, 2013

At Friday’s Board of Trustees meeting, the board unanimously approved construction plans to relocate and rebuild the on-campus fuel station.

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College of Law students work to handle stress

Lilly Keyes

January 28, 2013

Even though law student Andreina Rosa is looking forward to the Barrister’s Inaugural Ball this weekend, she has more on her mind than the new gown she’ll be wearing to the “law school prom.” “It’s … gold,” she said as she pulled out her phone to show off a photo of the dress. “It looks kind of white, but it’s gold — here’s what the back looks like.” Soon after, thoughts of the responsibilities she’ll neglect while wearing the dress brought her back to reality. She’s one of many law students overwhelmed with stress from school. “We do have events to enjoy ourselves, but at the end of the day we (think) ‘Oh, I feel bad because I didn’t get this work done,’” she said, taking on a more serious tone. “Especially when the event is over.” Rosa, who noticed her stress heighten after starting law school, said she started the Wellness in Practice program to offer help to other struggling students. After their first semester of law school, the Dave Nee Foundation reported 27 percent of law students show signs of depression. After three years, this figure rises to 40 percent.

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Smartphone app might prevent on-campus crime

Darcie Moran

January 28, 2013

While conversations on college campus safety have been ignited by recent attacks on campuses across the nation, some universities are turning to apps to improve safety. Several Big Ten universities, including Ohio State University, are discussing launching a pilot program of the Canadian-based application Guardly, which allows users to give specific incident information — including exact location and which authorities to send — without making a phone call, Guardly sales director Luke Slan said.

MSU

Students receive $5,000 grant to create route app

Michael Koury

January 28, 2013

The app, called Routebook, would gather information such as weather, live traffic and bus schedules and compile the fastest route.

MSU

Economy, employment gives college appeal to freshmen

Alex McClung

January 28, 2013

A record number of college freshmen think attending a university will help them get a better career, a recent survey shows. The results of the 2012 Freshman Survey were released Thursday by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program, part of the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles. The 2012 survey, which nearly 200,000 freshman across the country participated in, found 88 percent of those surveyed said the ability to get a better job was a very important reason to go to college.

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Butterfield renovations approved by MSU trustees

Samantha Radecki

January 27, 2013

At Friday’s MSU Board of Trustees meeting, the trustees unanimously approved a few construction, renovation and expansion projects on and off campus. Here’s a guide to what was approved.

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Campus fitness centers reopening

Robert Bondy

January 27, 2013

Avoiding cold weather and saving a few bucks are a few of the advantages finance sophomore Collin Stauder listed when hearing the news of the neighborhood fitness centers reopening in the upcoming week. “I’d like it because in the winter I wouldn’t have to walk to IM West since its so cold,” Stauder said.

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Spartasoft hosts annual Global Game Jam location

Alex McClung

January 27, 2013

While some gamers spent their weekend at home playing “Halo” or “Call of Duty”, some Spartans challenged themselves to create video games of their own. Spartasoft, an MSU student organization that develops video game software, hosted its own version of the Global Game Jam, or GGJ, this weekend in the Communication Arts and Sciences Building. Students created game concepts and designed their own video games with peers during the worldwide event, where teams challenge themselves to create a new video game based on a theme within 48 hours.

MSU

Miss Greek crowned during charity show for Lyme Disease

Simon Schuster

January 27, 2013

Under flashing lights and throbbing music Friday night, Miss Greek was crowned at Secrets Nightclub, 244 S. Washington St., during Sigma Pi’s annual charity event. Genomics and molecular genetics sophomore Chandler Stimach of Kappa Alpha Theta will hold the title for 2013 after facing off in a field of contestants representing 10 of MSU’s 13 sororities.

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Hundreds of students attend comic hypnotist

Isabella Shaya

January 27, 2013

Amy Savoie named an imaginary bluebird Wiz Khalifa — a rapper she never listens to — and laid on two strangers’ laps because she believed she was a seat belt. She barely remembers a thing. For more than an hour, the animal science sophomore fell under the spell of comic hypnotist Daniel James on Friday at the International Center. More than 500 students and guests filled the room to see James perform hypnosis on about 20 student volunteers.

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ASMSU votes in support of adding fitness access fee to tuition

Christine LaRouere

January 24, 2013

ASMSU, MSU’s undergraduate student government, voted in support of a fitness plan fee included in students’ tuition, with an opt-out option, at its general assembly meeting Thursday night.

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‘The League’ live show to come to wharton

Robert Bondy

January 24, 2013

Fantasy football and plenty of laughs will be on tab for MSU students this weekend, courtesy of the Residence Halls Association or RHA, and FX’s “The League Live.” RHA booked FX’s “The League Live” to come at 7:30 p.m. Sunday in the Cobb Great Hall at Wharton Center. Tickets for the event went on sale Friday, Jan. 18, with student tickets going for $17 and $27 for non-students. Students are limited to two tickets per MSU ID. Tickets were still available for purchase as of Thursday night and also will be available for purchase at the door, if the event does not sell out, RHA Director of Public Relations Abigail Bhattacharyya said.

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Board of Trustees considers upgrades to campus

Samantha Radecki

January 24, 2013

Many campus construction projects top the list to be discussed and voted upon by the Board of Trustees at its 9:30 a.m. Friday meeting in the boardroom at the Administration Building.

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Mich. schools help boost economy with research

Samantha Radecki

January 23, 2013

According to the 2012 Economic Impact Report of the URC, the universities generated $15.5 billion toward Michigan’s economy — a number URC Executive Director Jeff Mason said is spread throughout the state in company development and the growing number of working professionals.