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MSU

MSU's Police Oversight Committee names new chair

Jake Allen
February 4, 2016

The MSU Police Oversight Committee has named Michelle Kaminski as its new chair. The change comes after concerns of the way the committee functions were brought forward by criminal justice graduate and member of the police oversight committee Robert Vankirk. Kaminski is an associate professor in the school of Human Resources and Labor Relations at MSU and has been with the university since 2001.

MSU

New DJ club founded on campus

Josh Bender
February 3, 2016

The five students founding the MSU DJ Club share plenty in common. Four major in fields of study related to the business world, all are freshmen, and none have any previous DJing experience. “We think this club has the potential to be the largest club on campus," supply chain management freshman and club president Chris Chacko said.

MSU

For DREAMers, path to education can be filled with roadblocks

Josh Bender
February 3, 2016

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM, Act and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, are sets of legislation, some portions of which have already been passed, addressing issues faced by people like doctoral students Jose Badillo Carlos and Osvaldo Sandoval — birthright citizens of the United States, but with parents who originally migrated to this country without documentation.

MSU

With new vape lounge, trend is here to stay

Ian Wendrow
February 3, 2016

What was once thought of as a passing fad has become a lasting standard among college smokers. Those unassuming little grey boxes, with their LED displays and tiny buttons and the smokers who exhale thick plumes of vapor have become far more present on the MSU campus than they were in the past. Vaping is here to stay. New vape shops have been opening up across the Lansing area, some only a few weeks old. This up tick in demand for vapor products is being met via these new shops as well as long-time establishments, such as Wild Side Smoke Shop on Grand River Avenue. 

MSU

MSU police report bias incident, property damage

Ray Wilbur
February 3, 2016

MSU police are reporting an incident involving a possible bias crime related to race. A resident assistant in Gilchrist Hall reported a bulletin board with Martin Luther King Jr. Day information on it had been ripped off the wall on Jan. 30. 

MSU

Four MSU students nominated for National Barry Goldwater Scholarship

Rachel Fradette
February 1, 2016

MSU has announced the four undergraduate nominees for the National Barry Goldwater Scholarship. The students are nominated based on academic achievement as well as research work in the STEM fields. “The purpose of the Foundation is to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians, and engineers by awarding scholarships to college students who intend to pursue research careers in these fields,” according to the scholarship foundation's website. For chemical engineering junior Laura Azouz all the hard work has paid off. “I was excited, but it also made me motivated to try and improve my application for the national portion of it,” Azouz said. Azouz said she has a different perspective than most students because of her growing up across the pond in Cairo, Egypt. Azouz said Rebecca Carlson, one of last year’s scholarship award winners encouraged her to apply. “Without the support I have from all of my professors at MSU and all the opportunities I had here I don’t think I would have been able to apply. All four nominees are a part of the Honors College. Another nominee, physics junior Hananiel Setiawan said his interest in research led him to submit an application “MSU is a major research institution.” Setiawan said.

MSU

Sorority Alpha Xi Delta to get chapter house

Deja Green
January 29, 2016

A few weeks into the fall semester, hundreds of women choose to go through the Panhellenic Council’s formal sorority recruitment and find their metaphorical home. Next fall, one sorority will finally get its actual home at 855 Grove St.

MSU

Tips to conserve more water on campus

Alexis Sargent
January 29, 2016

MSU prides itself on being a green campus, and students can be a large part of this initiative. According to the Residential and Hospitality Services Sustainability Office, the amount of water consumed by residence halls in one year could fill three-and-a-half Spartan Stadiums.

MSU

MSU professor brings new type of artificial intelligence to world of video games

Mason Bailey
January 28, 2016

An MSU professor has developed a revolutionary new type of artificial intelligence (AI), and he's bringing it to the world of video games for its first real-world application.  Dr. Arend Hintze, assistant professor for integrative biology and computer science and engineering at MSU, has developed a new form of AI that can adapt and learn over time through a process similar to Darwinian evolution.  "All these systems (Watson, Siri) which are these super-great hallmarks of artificial intelligence are really expert systems that have no general purpose intelligence, like a cockroach, for example," Hintze said.

MSU

MSU's attempt to patch broken sexual assault policies draw criticism

Ray Wilbur
January 27, 2016

Elizabeth’s case, like the two others mishandled in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, or OCR, report from Sept. 1, 2015, highlights an issue in the way MSU handles sexual assault and harassment cases that the university is working to address through revisions and updates to its sexual assault and relationship violence policy.