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MSU

RHA works to end racism

Fredricka Paul
April 13, 2006

Racism — not in their halls. Officials from the Residence Halls Association, or RHA, have created a campaign called "Not in Our Hall" to help fight racism in dorms. The program aims to include residence hall student governments to convey the same message — that racism and discrimination won't be tolerated. Vic Maurer, RHA's director of Racial, Ethnic and Progressive Affairs, said the idea came from something Wilson Hall's student government did last year to help stop discrimination against black students. "We decided to make it campuswide," Maurer said, adding that RHA officials wanted it to reflect the different incidents that happened all over campus. Maurer said RHA officials made the program optional for hall governments because it would be more valuable if student leaders took the initiative to start it.

MSU

Cutting out calories

Holly Klaft
April 13, 2006

Students didn't seem to notice the physical changes in cafeteria cook Gilbert Manuell until they saw the picture posted on his sandwich station. "Some students, because they've seen me every day, never paid much attention (to my weight loss) until they saw my picture," said Manuell, who works in Landon and Yakeley halls.

MSU

Board to consider student selection for committees

Kristi Jourdan
April 13, 2006

The MSU Board of Trustees will decide today whether or not to transfer power from faculty to student government officials when selecting undergraduate students to serve on academic committees. Robert Murphy, former chairperson for ASMSU's Academic Assembly, said the proposal would amend bylaws of the Academic Governance system that affect both standing committees and ad hoc committees, which are temporary committees formed by administrators to discuss a specific issue that arises throughout the year. Currently, MSU faculty members possess the power to assign students to Academic Governance committees, such as the Executive Committee of Academic Council, which schedules agendas for Faculty Council and Academic Council as well as reviews university legislation. "It's merely correcting a small oversight in the bylaws," said Murphy, of MSU's undergraduate student government.

MSU

Student group reaches out to Muslim faculty

Holly Klaft
April 13, 2006

The Muslim Students' Association is trying to raise awareness in the MSU community that there are numerous Muslim professors on campus because their achievements often go unnoticed among the larger community, members said. The group will bring together more than 20 Muslim professors Friday for an honorary dinner to build support in the Muslim community and to recognize the professors' academic achievements. "We're trying to show the community that Muslim professors are amongst us, teaching and making contributions," said Abdulahi Sufi, a business administration and prelaw junior and member of the association.

MSU

No. of law school applicants on rise

Kristen Daum
April 12, 2006

Applications to the MSU College of Law have almost doubled in the past five years, at a time when law school applications nationwide aren't seeing much of an increase. As of April 7, the college received 2,731 applications for fall 2006 admission — just 10 applications short of the total amount received for fall 2005, according to numbers provided by the law college's admissions office.

MSU

A second chance for Coke

Melissa Domsic
April 12, 2006

In spite of the University of Michigan's decision Tuesday to begin selling Coca-Cola products on campus after boycotting them since January, MSU students say it won't hinder their campaign against the company. U-M stopped its contract with Coca-Cola on Jan.

MSU

Faculty addresses non-MSU work code

Kristen Daum
April 12, 2006

A revision to a university policy dealing with faculty's work outside MSU sparked lengthy discussion during Tuesday's Faculty Council meeting. Under the changes, faculty members will now be responsible for reporting to their department administrator about any outside work they do for which they receive financial compensation. The University Committee on Faculty Affairs proposed changes to the university's Outside Work for Pay policy, since the policy hasn't been modified in recent years, committee chairperson Ross Emmett said at the meeting. However, no official authorization from the department administrators is needed and the work only needs to be reported if it deals with the faculty member's academic work at MSU, Emmett said. But several Faculty Council members raised concerns about the vagueness of the policy, such as what type of work qualifies as outside work and what situations are exempt from the policy. "We, as a faculty, have not yet revisited the core of this problem," Dr. Jim Potchen, chairperson of the Department of Radiology, said at the meeting.

MSU

Admissions office to accept online transcripts

Kristen Daum
April 12, 2006

MSU now can connect directly with instate high schools, speeding up the online application process and saving time and money for the university, admissions officials said. An agreement with ConnectEdu Inc., a Boston-based company providing interactive technology for high schools and colleges, allows MSU to receive high school transcripts online, which is another step in making MSU's application process entirely electronic. "We're already halfway there, but we still rely on high schools to send us the transcript by mail," said Jim Cotter, senior associate director of the Office of Admissions and Scholarships.

MSU

Marksmanship club holds open house today

Kristen Daum
April 12, 2006

An open house for the MSU Marksmanship Club and air rifle team will be held at 7 p.m. today in the Demonstration Hall Ballroom. Information on the club's activities will be presented, and the air rifle range will be available for those interested. The MSU Marksmanship Club offers different safe firearm activities, including clay targets and training sessions.

MSU

New research findings could boost rice yields

Holly Klaft
April 11, 2006

MSU researchers have identified a gene in rice that regulates how easily individual grains fall from the stalk they grow on — a discovery that could improve global rice production. Rice is the main food source for about half the world's population, said Tao Sang, an MSU associate professor and leader of MSU's research team. "People in some regions of the world still lose a lot of their crop because the grains fall off too easily," Sang said.

MSU

Hubbard takes the cake

Fredricka Paul
April 11, 2006

The Hubbard Hall cafeteria was voted students' favorite cafeteria based on a recent poll conducted by the Residence Halls Association, or RHA. Brody Hall came in second, and Akers Hall came in third. "We think of ourselves more as a restaurant," said Larry Tarnowski, food service manager of Akers and Hubbard cafeterias.

MSU

WEB EXTRA: 'Take Back the Night' aims to bring sexual assault awareness to community

Today, a series of events will bring sexual assault awareness to the forefront. "Take Back the Night" is a daylong event held during Sexual Assault Awareness Month which aims to draw survivors of sexual assault and the community together to help end sexual violence. There will be a clothesline project display in the field near Beaumont Tower from 10 a.m.

MSU

Faculty groups' work could be delayed

Kristen Daum
April 11, 2006

An idea to combine a series of committees, formed to increase faculty input in university decisions, could stall the outcome until the fall — and some faculty members said the action could be detrimental to the impact they hope to have on the Academic Governance system. Five committees, called the Faculty Voice Task Forces, were created last fall to address faculty's role in specific issues — such as restructuring the Academic Governance system, reviewing administrators and academic programs, defining the role of fixed-term faculty and improving communication within the system. After working the entire semester, four of the five committees looking to increase faculty input in university decisions have final recommendations ready for approval — but some faculty members have concerns about whether these recommendations should be implemented yet. Discussions are expected to be held at today's Faculty Council meeting regarding an integration committee, which will look at the costs and logistics of each committee's recommendations to find out if they're feasible to carry out.

MSU

House candidates debate on campus today

Ken Osborne
April 11, 2006

The declared Democratic candidates for the 69th District seat in the state House of Representatives will meet in a debate today at MSU. Mary Lindemann and East Lansing City Councilmember Mark Meadows are seeking the nomination. The debate is free and open to any student or community member.

MSU

Officials seek student input on smoking

Fredricka Paul
April 10, 2006

University Housing officials are seeking more student input on smoking in residence halls by conducting a paper survey to be released Tuesday. Employees will be in residence hall cafeterias across campus during dinner, passing out the survey and using candy bars as an incentive for completing and turning it in on the spot. "That's our way of thanking them for participating," University Housing Director Angela Brown said. Students also will be able to pick up the survey at the front desk of residence halls until Friday. The survey will be on Scantron sheets, and students will be able to bubble in their answers.