MSU
Vigil to remember victims of hurricane
A candlelight vigil in honor of the victims and survivors of Hurricane Katrina is scheduled for 7 p.m.
MSU
Student business club to discuss program
The Student Investment Association is having its general-membership meeting from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. today in N100 Business College Complex. The student group is scheduled to detail its analyst program and planned trip to New York.
MSU
Legislators discuss status of underpasses
University, state and federal officials gathered on campus Friday to formally announce $16.8 million in funding for two Farm Lane underpasses. The underpasses, which have been in the works since 2002, will allow for traffic to move underneath the trains that cross Farm Lane near Service and Mount Hope roads. "I have spent hours waiting for trains to come through," said U.S.
MSU
Student released after weekend meningitis scare
An MSU student was released from Sparrow Hospital on Saturday after being diagnosed with a meningitis-type bacteria, hospital officials said. After feeling flu-like symptoms, the student was taken to the Lansing hospital and was tested for bacterial meningitis. The student tested positive for a special strain of bacteria, called Neisseria meningitidis, but did not test positive for the full-fledged bacterial meningitis, said Nan Simons, a Sparrow Hospital spokeswoman. The student's family requested the student's name not be released, MSU spokesperson Terry Denbow said. Bacterial meningitis is an infection that causes inflammation of tissues and fluid around the brain and spinal cord.
MSU
Old Spice seeks clean comics
By Norrel Hemphill Special to The State News It was hard to miss the three men walking around in white Old Spice bathrobes, camera crew in tow, during Saturday's tailgating festivities at the tennis courts. Representatives from Old Spice were filming a commercial with three MSU students as leads in search of America's Cleanest Comic.
MSU
New regulations shrink tailgate
Fewer than 100 cars were parked in the newly implemented student-only tailgate area near the tennis courts on Saturday - a noticeable difference from past years, when about 400 cars and thousands of people would fill the area on football game days. "They've effectively killed tailgate," biochemistry senior Shankar Arul said while he tailgated at the tennis courts.
MSU
Legislators to speak on underpass status during campus visit
U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, will be on campus Friday for a press conference on proposed railroad underpasses on Farm Lane. They will hold a news conference at 11 a.m.
MSU
Experts reflect on intensity of hurricanes
A recent study claims global warming is to blame for a growing intensity of tropical storms, but it remains unclear whether warming was to blame for the severity of Hurricane Katrina, scientists say. In August, Massachusetts Institute of Technology climatologist Kerry Emanuel reported in the journal "Nature" that major storms spinning in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans have increased in duration and intensity by about 50 percent since the 1970s. During that period, global average temperatures have risen by about 1 degree Fahrenheit along with increases in the level of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping pollutants from industry smokestacks, traffic exhaust and other sources. It makes sense that Hurricane Katrina was such an intense storm because the Gulf of Mexico's temperature was above average before it hit, said David Hyndman, associate professor in the MSU Department of Geological Sciences. "When you warm sea-surface temperature, you are getting stronger storms," Hyndman said. Global warming spurred by human activity has everything to do with the growing strength of tropical storms, Hyndman said.
MSU
Academic Assembly votes to induct international student group
ASMSU's Academic Assembly voted unanimously to recognize the International Students Association, or ISA, as part of MSU's undergraduate student government at its meeting Tuesday. The vote was a step toward ISA's actual membership in ASMSU.
MSU
MSU officials introduce new pre-game lecture series
John Hannah won't stop inspiring new ideas at MSU. This Saturday, the public will have the opportunity to hear the first in a series of lectures to be held on campus on home football Saturdays - a series that officials began considering last fall after a lecture surrounding the dedication of a statue of Hannah, MSU's 12th president. "That's really where the germ of the idea began," said Sue Carter, chairwoman of the sesquicentennial events committee and an organizer of the series. The series is part of a yearlong celebration of MSU's sesquicentennial, or 150th anniversary. The lectures will be held three hours prior to kickoff in the Kellogg Center Auditorium.
MSU
RHA officials move to new Holden office
Officers with MSU's Residence Halls Association are preparing for this upcoming school year in a new, larger office near their old location. Kevin Newman, RHA president, said he is excited about the new space, G-7 in the basement of Holden Hall.
MSU
Project offers fixed-up bikes to students, staff
Inspecting the green fixed-up bike she'd leased from the MSU Bike Project on Tuesday night, Ute Rossler was thankful to have received a bike at all.
MSU
MSU asked to shut off power over weekend
Physical Plant officials are asking on-campus students, faculty and staff to turn off any unnecessary electrical devices during the upcoming holiday weekend. Plant employees will be connecting a new high-pressure steam line this weekend as part of a continuing expansion.
MSU
ASMSU looks to improve freshman council activism
About 600 freshmen have expressed interest in joining ASMSU, MSU's undergraduate student government, following increased recruiting efforts from the group's staff, officials said. For the first time, the Associated Students of Michigan State University has presented information about the organization and a subgroup, Freshman Class Council, at each Academic Orientation Program this summer as a way to foster interest early in the students' academic careers, said Jessica Kunnath, ASMSU's director of constituent activism. The council didn't do much last year - not enough students joined, some dropped out and they did few visible things for their class, Kunnath said. With unusually high turnout from recruiting at AOP sessions, ASMSU hopes to organize a more active group of freshmen. "The last council for Freshman Class Council kind of just diminished over the year - they weren't putting on any programs, weren't really helping the freshmen," Kunnath said.
MSU
Council meeting emphasizes faculty involvement
An early meeting of the Faculty Council was held Tuesday to inform faculty representatives of the latest news with Academic Governance and to stress the need for maximizing the faculty's voice in the university. New task force proposals included a review process for administrators, a review process for academic programs, communication and transparency and a fixed-term faculty role in governance.
MSU
Report finds study habits differ for men, women
It may be the first week of classes, but Abra Jeffers spent Tuesday afternoon poring over a chemistry workbook at the tables outside Espresso Royale Caffe, 527 E.
MSU
MSU prof finds new heart attack cause
For years, researchers didn't know what cholesterol's role in causing heart attacks is, until an MSU professor realized it's as simple as a bottle of water that's frozen and cracked. "It cuts through membranes, like shards of glass in the artery," said George Abela, a professor in the MSU Department of Medicine, whose findings are published in the September issue of the medical journal "Clinical Cardiology." "That's why you think it can create such a big ouch." Examining the process of heart attacks for about 10 years, Abela found the key was cholesterol located in the wall of an artery.
MSU
Officials continue to examine impact of power loss
Administrators are still in the process of determining the extent of damages to university buildings and equipment two weeks after the most significant power outage on campus in almost six years. Department chairpersons have been asked to report the impact of the outages in their departments to MSU controller David Brower. Brower will then prepare a report for administrators detailing safety and security concerns raised by the power loss and addressing areas requiring more funds to prevent future problems, said Marc Conlin, an administrative assistant in the department of physics and astronomy. "They're trying to look at the overall picture to see where they want to do some things differently," Conlin said.
MSU
Students adapt to facility upgrades
New floors, bleachers, locker rooms and workout equipment are among some of the updated features that greet new and returning students for the first time at IM Sports-West's renovated facility, which opened May 16. The new $5.5 million facility was renovated because the former building was not up to par, said Lawrence Sierra, director of Intramural Sports and Recreation Services.
MSU
Value of 'One Book' event examined
The idea of MSU's "One Book, One Community" requires freshmen to read one book to unite the students and East Lansing residents by having a common interest, but some professors and students differ on the value of the annual program. This year's book assignment, Khaled Hosseini's "The Kite Runner," is mandatory for all freshmen and encourages East Lansing residents to participate in book-related events from Aug.