The Spartans welcomed a lion on campus this past weekend, but you won’t catch him with a football. An African male lion was sent from John Ball Zoo, in Grand Rapids, to Potter Park Zoo, in Lansing, then to MSU’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital to undergo an MRI.
MSU’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, or FRIB, appears to be the latest program to fall victim to funding cuts at the federal level. Last week, the U.S.
Friday marked the 40th anniversary of the U.S. “war on drugs,” a policy of zero tolerance first declared by then-President Richard Nixon in 1971, but members of the MSU branch of Students for Sensible Drug Policy hope that this anniversary will be the country’s last. MSU Students for Sensible Drug Policy, or MSU SSDP, held a candlelight vigil at 8:30 p.m.
Musicians from all ages and abilities convened in East Lansing this weekend for the ninth annual Eric “RicStar” Winter Music Therapy Camp, an opportunity for people with special needs to explore musical expression.
Two MSU graduate students have been chosen as members of the 2012 National Sea Grant College Program Dean John A.
Michigan’s first hydraulic excavator using hybrid technology is being operated at a construction site on MSU’s campus. AIS Construction Equipment Corporation, a 50-year-old Michigan-based company, is the supplier for what will be the Bott Building for Nursing Education and Research located on Bogue Street south of Service Road.
The scandal involving sexual photos sent by Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., has made national headlines over the last two weeks, culminating in his decision to take a leave of absence to seek treatment on Sunday. While many have debated whether Weiner should be forced to resign, the scandal has demonstrated the power of social media. The culture of social media fostered by websites such as Twitter and Facebook has resulted in people such as Weiner being unable to separate work from social experiences, MSU professor Bob LaRose, from the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media, said in an email. “Problems arise from becoming overly involved at the expense of real world responsibilities,” LaRose said.
Many MSU students studying this summer have chosen to take advantage of online course offerings to give them an edge when they return to campus in the fall. With the onset of ANGEL and other digital communication methods, instructors are finding ways to provide education without having to convene on campus. Byron Brown, an economics professor and coordinator of instructional technology support for Libraries, Computing and Technology, said MSU has been offering online courses for more than a decade to provide a supplement for learning in a digital age. Any department on campus can develop an online course through MSU’s Virtual University, Brown said, but all departments are required to uphold the course’s objectives in a way that proves successful in an online setting. International relations and psychology sophomore Kanza Khan said she enrolled in an online class to get ahead in school while living at home in Troy, Mich., this summer.
About five months after its implementation at MSU, campus officials said the Zipcar program has been successful. Jennifer Battle, assistant director of campus sustainability, said the car sharing program — originally launched in January through a partnership with Cambridge, Mass., company Zipcar — has been well-received among MSU students and faculty. “I would generally say we’re on a successful track,” she said.
Graduate students navigating the world of higher education now have a forum for discussing their experiences, following the launch of an MSU-created website. Gradhacker.org — a site created by five MSU graduate students — was unveiled this past weekend at The Humanities And Technology, or THAT, Camp at George Mason University. The site hosts a blog that allows graduate students to both post and comment on the challenges of graduate school and their various experiences pursuing their degrees, said Katy Meyers, an anthropology graduate student who helped start the site. “The purpose of it is to kind of act as a digital roundtable for graduate students,” Meyers said.
Visitors to MSU’s campus soon might find quicker ways to navigate campus thanks to a new website created by an MSU student. Electrical engineering sophomore Nick Hess has teamed up with four other college students — including a fellow Spartan — to start campusroutes.com, a website that uses GPS features to help students and visitors find the fastest walking routes between buildings using campus sidewalks. Hess and Chris Ostrowski — a computer science junior at Western Michigan University — first came up with the idea during Lansing’s Startup Weekend, an event held in April, which showcases innovative business ideas and provides monetary prizes to the best idea as selected by a panel of judges.
Anyone interested in stargazing can attend the free open house at the MSU Observatory next weekend. Open to the public, the events will be on June 10 and 11, and they run from 9:30-11:00 p.m.
A new study led by MSU researchers has found that sustained involvement in artistic activities could be linked to success in starting a new business or producing an innovative product. MSU’s Center for Community and Economic Development surveyed 86 MSU Honors College graduates from 1990-95 and found that exposure to the arts among the graduates was closely related to producing patentable products or leading creative business ventures in the future. The findings are critical for retaining creative people in the state and generating additional funding for arts programs, said Rex LaMore, the director of the center. “I hope it will help us reconsider how we treat the arts — not as an add-on or frill but as an essential component,” he said.
Although it’s been more than 85 years since the Union first opened, Kat Cooper said the original mission of the building isn’t any different. “We like to think of the Union as kind of being the living room of campus — that really hasn’t changed,” said Cooper, the communication manager for Auxiliary Resources, the department that operates the building.
The Council Of Graduate Students, or COGS, has teamed up with MSU’s Culinary Services and three other on-campus organizations to offer support for tsunami and earthquake relief efforts in Japan.
As the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum continues to take shape, it is becoming clear MSU is going with a modern look to display modern art. The $45 million project is on schedule — expecting to be completed in December and opened in April 2012 — despite an additional $6 million to $7 million to be raised, museum director Michael Rush said.
A new mode of transportation with a Far East feel has been circulating across campus — the pedicab. Spar-Thai Green Cab Service has begun using pedicabs, or bicycles with electric assistance and a canopied seating area, giving students a new way to get around.
There are very few places on MSU’s campus that aren’t open to everyone, but one of them is the Women’s Lounge inside the Union.
Many professors prohibit students from using Wikipedia for class assignments, considering it to be an unreliable source, but a nationwide initiative is working toward increasing the site’s credibility through student involvement. This past academic year, MSU teamed up with the Wikimedia Foundation to participate in the Wikipedia Public Policy Initiative, a program that enables students to edit, contribute to and write their own public policy-related Wikipedia articles. The initiative started with 14 classes in fall 2010 and grew to 33 by spring 2011.
The Graduate Employees Union, or GEU, has recognized an MSU professor, along with the Department of English, for her work with graduate students during this past school year. Stephanie Nawyn, an assistant professor of sociology, was named Outstanding Supervisor by the union, and the Department of English received the nod for Outstanding Department. The GEU looked for departments and professors that support teaching assistants with balancing both schoolwork and research, said Sam Otten, president of the GEU.