Friends celebrate late student's life

A memorial service for Jiang Wei Lim will be held at 4 p.m. today in the McDonel Hall Kiva. Tyler DeBruler, Lim's former roommate and friend, said some people who knew him well will make presentations, and a spiritual leader will be present as well. "(We're) going to put up a couple of photos and tell stories about him and basically just tell how loved he was, when it comes right down to it," he said. Lim, a 20-year-old computer science and engineering senior and international student, was spending the weekend at a friend's home when he drowned last weekend in a swimming accident in Lake Michigan.

Buddhists celebrate first teaching

Saturday was the start of the Buddhist celebration Asalha Puja and the Rains Retreat, and many gathered at a local monastery to celebrate its commencement with meditation and ethnic food. Ajahn Khemasanto, the abbot at Dhammasala Forest Monastery, 14780 Beardslee Road in Perry, said the retreat is a time for monks to meditate. "This a special time for monks to take on special practices and be more strict in meditation," he said.

State asks for recall of explicit game

Legislators announced Wednesday that they will ask the manufacturer of "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" to recall the video game and will ask state retailers to take it off their shelves.

Anti-torture bill proposed after attacks

In the state of Michigan, torturing an animal is punishable under law, but currently no law protects a human being from being tortured by another. Rep.

New site offers forum for fans

The topics of campus, sports, East Lansing and anything else are all possible forums people can post replies to on the new MSU forum site, www.msufans.com. And you don't have to be from MSU to log in. Advertising and sociology senior Justin Sailor created the site two months ago and said there are already more than 500 users. "I was basically looking for a summer project," he said.

State delays ACLU hearing

The hearing scheduled for last week to determine whether public employers can offer benefits to domestic partners has been postponed until August, and some university employees are worried about losing their benefits. A Michigan Constitutional amendment was ratified in 2004, which defined marriage as being between a man and a woman. The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, is representing 21 same-sex couples who filed the lawsuit in March after Attorney General Mike Cox interpreted the amendment as barring the city of Kalamazoo from providing domestic-partnership benefits in future contracts. The court hearing was postponed in order for Gov.

E.L. to revise law limiting lawn signs

A city ordinance that limits the number of signs East Lansing residents can have on their front lawns is being amended, but it has some residents and city leaders at odds over freedom of expression. Two East Lansing residents expressed their concerns for the city's "environmental quality" at the City Council meeting last Tuesday. These residents are concerned certain modifications to the policy will cause more people to overrun their lawns with political signs. The most significant concern addressed was the "visual clutter," said East Lansing's Deputy City Manager Jean Golden.

MSU receives $2M grant for lab renovations

A $2 million grant to MSU will be used to help finance renovations in the Lyman Briggs School and to create an endowment in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. The grant was given by the Midland, Mich., Rollin M.

Research: Flip-flops could be harmful

With scorching summer temperatures, some students across campus shuffle to class or work in the lightest clothes possible, including their footwear - flip-flop sandals. "(Flip-flops) are better because you can flip them off your feet easily," said Lansing resident, Ryan Howard.

Word on the street

"I think any type of celebration (the university) puts on isn't going to be what we want it to be." George Konstantopoulos accounting senior "It would be nice to do something like that if it got down to the Elite Eight or Final Four, but I don't think it would defer anything riot-wise." Colleen Duff kinesiology senior "That'd be fun.

Police briefs 07/26/05

Alcohol inhalant could be banned

Two bills recently introduced to the state House of Representatives would ban the use of alcohol without liquid, commonly called AWOL, in Michigan. AWOL is an inhalant that is a combination of alcohol mist and pure oxygen and can create a euphoric sensation.

Storm slows local stores

A late-night Saturday thunderstorm that continued through daybreak Sunday left the city and some area businesses scrambling to function. The storm caused a power outage and knocked some trees down, said Sgt.

State gives MSU nursing grants totaling about $1.8M

A series of grants announced Wednesday will mean more than $1.8 million in funding to train nurses for MSU's College of Nursing. The four grants could mean more students will be admitted, said Teresa Wehrwein, assistant dean for professional partnerships and faculty practice in the college. Michigan will be in need of an extra 7,000 nurses by 2010 and 18,000 nurses by 2015, said Jeanette Klemczak, chief nurse executive in the Michigan Department of Community Health. MSU is one of six universities developing an accelerated second-degree program to get more nurses into the workforce quickly. Gov.

Student creates writing game

Forget "Super Mario Brothers" and "Grand Theft Auto." An MSU graduate student is working to create an online text-based video game called "Ink" for student writers to compete against one another. Kym Buchanan presented his educational version of "You Got Served" to MSU's Writing Center and Writing In Digital Environments Research Center, or WIDE, in the spring after using the game's format for a telecommunications course's final project.

Radio, TV shows downloadable with podcasts

Owners of iPods and other personal MP3 players now have more listening options than just the music they download or rip from their CD collections. "People have called podcasting the TiVo for radio," said Gary Reid, a university distinguished senior specialist in the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media and general manager of MSU's student radio station Impact (88.9-FM). Podcasting allows nearly anyone to broadcast an audio file over the Internet.

Marshall man gets 8-20 years

A 19-year-old Marshall, Mich., man was sentenced on Wednesday in the Ingham County Circuit Court to serve eight to 20 years in prison for the murder of an Okemos man. Alexander Hamil, who came to East Lansing to celebrate St.

Student wins cherry crown

A queen will be attending MSU as a student this fall. Biological sciences senior Courtney Fountain was named the 2005-06 National Cherry Queen at this year's National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Mich.

Board secretary to be confirmed today

Alison Barber is expected to be confirmed today as the new secretary of the MSU Board of Trustees, officials said. The board will meet today to discuss, among other things, the appointment of Barber, the MSU senior associate dean in the Eli Broad College of Business.

Police briefs 07/21/05