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Campus

MSU

Web simulation helps provide info about HIV, AIDS

The Alliance of Lesbian-Bi-Gay-Transgender and Straight Ally Students, with the help of other on-campus groups, is making use of a new resource to raise awareness for World AIDS Day on Thursday. An interactive Web site, www.spreadthis.org, will be launched Thursday and will be accessible to everyone. The alliance is trying a simulation with their site so students can virtually see how the AIDS virus can spread. About 60 students working with the alliance will arbitrarily hand out 3,000 red business cards around campus, which students can use to access the site.

MSU

College takes step to reverse nurse deficit

A nursing shortage has plagued the country for the last five years, so the MSU College of Nursing started a new program to help alleviate the problem. Allowing students who have already received their bachelor's degree to return and train to be a nurse in one year, the Accelerated Second Degree BSN program cuts the time it usually takes to train in half. The first group of students in this program started in September. The students in the program have already had other careers, so it is harder for them to commit the time to returning, said Marilyn Rothert, dean of the College of Nursing, adding that this is much more efficient. "We wanted to look at creative ways to bring folks who are inclined to help people and have a strong science background into the field," Rothert said.

MSU

Inspiring issues

Black power is a sense of community — this is the definition Ashley Hall keeps with her in her everyday life. "(Black power) is a term used to express a sense of pride and to rejoice in the ethnic roots we have accomplished so far," the journalism senior said.

MSU

ASMSU, provost share idea for Web site

ASMSU and the provost's office both made plans to create a Web site listing undergraduate research opportunities without realizing they had the same idea. Members of ASMSU's Academic Assembly passed a bill last week calling for the creation of such a Web site, but administrators have already set aside hundreds of thousands of dollars for a similar project. Administrators hope to have the site — which would offer specific research opportunities for undergraduate students and possibly be sorted by college — running next semester, said June Youatt, assistant provost for undergraduate education and dean of undergraduate studies. Youatt added that administrators want to have a planning meeting with students and faculty before the end of this semester. "It's great ASMSU is thinking — it's wonderful that we're converging on goals," Youatt said.

MSU

Indian group holds first show meeting

The first Satrang 2006 meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Erickson Hall Kiva. Students must attend in order to choreograph or participate. A $10 membership fee is due at the time of sign-ups. Satrang includes the singing of both the U.S.

MSU

Essay contest prize includes author visit

The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity is calling for submissions to an annual essay contest that awards about $10,000 in prizes. An MSU student was recognized with an honorable mention in a 2001 contest sponsored by the New York-based organization. In its 17th year, the essay contest asks students to write about an ethical issue relevant to today's world.

MSU

MSU junior receives $2.5K annual award

Child development junior Andrea Gillis received one of the Bright Horizons Family Solutions' annual Bright Futures Scholarship. The scholarship is in the amount of $2,500, and is given to three undergraduate students who are in the field of early education and child development within the education program. The scholarship committee looks for people who have overcome obstacles and are viewed as deserving by their peers and teachers. Gillis has made the Dean's List every semester. Last year, she worked with first graders and showed an ability to connect with diverse groups of children.

MSU

Engaged learning will be focus of seminar

A cross-disciplinary conversation about engaged learning and how it is manifested in various fields will take place Saturday. The event's organizers encourage participants to bring their ideas, experiences and questions on the topic. The discussion will be held from 10 a.m.

MSU

Group provides help for minority med students

For Chicano and Latino students aspiring to enter the health field, a new group on campus has been formed to assist them. The group — Chicano/Latinos in Health Education, or CHE — is a support, networking and advocacy organization targeting undergraduate students with health-related majors. Several branches of the organization exist in the western part of the country, but the MSU group is the first CHE in the Midwest. Third-year medical student Francisco Dorado founded the group about a year ago as a member of the Latino Midwest Medical Student Association, which is a graduate student support group. "I knew there was interest and I knew a lot would lose that interest in their first year," Dorado said.

MSU

More riders use CATA in '05

With winter well on its way, more people have been turning to Capital Area Transportation Authority, or CATA, buses instead of their cars, bikes and feet, according to CATA officials. Officials recently reported that record numbers of people are using the system, which includes numerous buses on and off campus, as well as other special services.

MSU

Catholic new liturgical year brings in season of 'hope'

Sunday marked the beginning of Advent, the four weeks leading up to Christmas that the Rev. Mark Inglot calls a "time warp" for those in the Catholic community. "It's a celebration of the fact that Jesus has come, does come to each of us and will come again," said Inglot, pastor at St.

MSU

Study reveals low end-of-life care training

Fewer than half of the medical residency programs in Michigan provide formal training in end-of-life care, according to a recent MSU study. The results showed 46 percent of the residency programs in the state provided formal training in end-of-life care, and 19 percent required training in patient care.

MSU

Students lobby for reduced tuition

Some MSU freshmen say they are concerned about the debts they'll have to pay off when they graduate, so they've decided to get involved in lowering tuition rates. "I'm going to be paying loans until I'm 45," kinesiology freshman James Debartolo said.

MSU

Debate team places second at tournament

The MSU Debate Team came in second place at the 49th annual Wake Forest University Shirley Classic. More than 70 colleges and 140 teams participated in the tournament. International relations senior Ryan Burke received 10th place in the Individual Speaker Award.

MSU

ASMSU seeks to fill 2 spots in coming weeks

Two ASMSU executives are resigning at the end of the semester, and the student government hopes to fill the positions by early December. Association Director Jason Bucholz is leaving for an internship in the spring, and Tahera Sakarwala, vice chairperson for student programming for ASMSU's Student Assembly, plans to move to Iowa for a supply chain management internship this spring. Applications for the association director position are due by 5 p.m.

MSU

Speakers, performers part of student rally

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Black Student Alliance will present the 33rd annual Black Power Rally at Fairchild Theatre. The theme for this year is "These Three Words: L.ove, U.nification, V.oice." The event will feature performances and speakers such as DJ Reality, 3rd Eye Open, Urban Dreams, poet Amiri Baraka and Denise Troutman, an MSU associate professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric and American Cultures.

MSU

Wilcox plans new positions

Provost Kim Wilcox introduced plans Tuesday to revamp his office staff with the addition of positions that have been absent from the university in recent years. A small change in terminology is being made to keep MSU on the same page as other universities — all assistant provosts will now be titled associate provosts, Wilcox said at Tuesday's Executive Committee of Academic Council meeting. In addition to some name changes, Wilcox said he wants to internally fill an associate provost position and an associate provost for human health issues position. Wilcox said he is limited by time constraints to be able to meet with all the groups he would like to, and additional staff members would help him be more accessible. The new human health issues position would be important in the College of Human Medicine expansion to Grand Rapids, officials said. The last piece of his plan is re-establishing an MSU vice president position, which John Hudzik, current adviser to the provost, would assume in January.