The Grant W. Howell Trust awarded $150,000 to MSU's School of Journalism earlier this month. The money will be used to establish an essay contest on media bias, as well as a scholarship program.
"Take Your Child To Work Day" is on MSU's campus today. The target age group is from 8 to 14 years old. This year's theme is "Sharing Power & Possibility," which involves daughters and sons participating in work, family and community responsibilities.
Capaciflectors, proximity sensors and retro-rockets might not take them back to the future, but some MSU students are finding they can lead to future careers. Students in the electrical and computer engineering senior design class will show off projects ranging from self-controlled robots to a new style of Mars rover during the annual Design Day, which starts at 9 a.m.
Woody's Oasis, a local Mediterranean deli, and Villa Pizza, a New Jersey-based pizza chain, will replace Taco Bell and Wendy's in the International Center next year. Union manager Jim Sheppard said a contract has been signed with Woody's, and the rest should be completed shortly. "They're generally a sure thing, but it's not always guaranteed," Sheppard said.
MSU Hillel Jewish Student Center recently decided to bring some fresh faces to its Executive Board. Five new officers were elected earlier this month to bring a new direction to the organization, which promotes Jewish identity on campus. Jennifer Bloom, a political theory and international relations sophomore, will serve as the organization's next president.
Means to improve faculty participation and power in the university were the focus of discussion at the Academic Senate meeting on Tuesday. The Faculty Voice Committee, a group created at last year's senate meeting to make recommendations on faculty involvement, presented its final report to a crowd of 142 faculty members.
In the Main Library, MSU's 150-year history is displayed in three glass cases. Books written by and about influential campus figures, maps from before the existence of many residence halls and sheet music to the MSU fight song sit in the cases, providing insight into the people and places that helped shape the university. The three exhibits run through May and are part of MSU's sesquicentennial celebration, a yearlong event that marks the 150th birthday of MSU. "We are celebrating the sesquicentennial campuswide, so it's only natural that the library would want to be a part of that," said Anita Ezzo, a food science and technology librarian and library exhibits coordinator. Ezzo produced the exhibit called "MSU 150: People, Places, Publications," which is located on the second floor of the Main Library's west wing.
Days away from their last scheduled meeting with university officials, members of the Graduate Employees Union and the MSU community rallied outside the Administration Building on Tuesday. The rally was meant to demonstrate awareness of the union's quest for a new contract from the university.
Imagine you're the director of public relations for a professional sports franchise. Your team has just lost its star player to free agency.
The third provost candidate to visit campus might soon be able to sing the MSU fight song - in five different languages. Uday Sukhatme, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the State University of New York at Buffalo, can speak Italian, French, two Indian languages and English.
Juan Ibanes was searching for subleasing opportunities last week on the message board www.allMSU.com, a free online forum for MSU students to share housing options, professor ratings and other information. Sifting through hundreds of postings with ambiguous titles such as "CHEAP SUBLEASE!!!" and "cute house for the summer!," Ibanes said he became increasingly frustrated. "There was about 40 every hour that keep getting added on all the time," the telecommunication, information studies and media junior said.
Derek Wallbank, College of Communication Arts & Sciences representative for ASMSU, believes there are options other than alcohol for students during the Welcome Week celebrations at the beginning of each school year. Welcome Week is the first few days before classes begin, when freshmen have the opportunity to become used to the college lifestyle. "Some people have weird ideas of what happens in college," Wallbank said.
Joe Greiner's Friday wasn't starting out as easily as he would have liked. A power drill he was using completely failed to bite into the painted screw heads of the loft he was tearing down. "Are they keeping this one?" said Greiner, a food industry management junior.
Six MSU students in a management class toured a Lansing company Friday afternoon for insight into the business world. The class field trip to the international headquarters of Two Men and a Truck, 3400 Belle Chase Way in Lansing, gave the students a firsthand account about how corporations train their employees, said Garth Motschenbacher, the class instructor and an academic advisor in the College of Engineering. The out-of-classroom opportunity, he said, allowed students to see a local example of a company that has developed an entire on-site training facility for its personnel. The company, which was formed in 1985 in Lansing, by Mary Ellen Sheets, has grown into 152 franchise locations in 27 states. Marketing senior Kate Padden said she wanted to learn more about the process of turning a small business into a franchise. "I'm interested in entrepreneurship," Padden said.
Members of the Graduate Employees Union moved one step closer to striking last week by unanimously approving a strike platform. The strike platform is a statement of the issues members will not give up on in negotiations with the university for a new contract.
MSU's undergraduate student government chose leaders Thursday, with some controversy about who is the best person for the job. ASMSU selected its only candidate for the student funding board vice chairperson, and after three votes, made a decision for the leader of the student programming board, which will be for the entire 2005-06 school year. English junior Brandon Hicks was the sole candidate for the Student Funding ballot and was unanimously voted vice chairperson.
Every year, about 1,500 bicycles are abandoned on campus. These bikes are picked up by the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety after students leave to go home.
A mini British invasion swept through campus on Saturday as mtvU's Campus Invasion 2005 Tour made a stop at Breslin Center with performances by London-based bands Razorlight and Muse.
The smells of ocean rain and cactus flower and the sounds of a trickling forest stream drifted through the International Center on Saturday as students relieved the stress of finals preparation. Dozens of students braved the chill outside to attend the "Chill at the I.C." inside, a University Activities Board-sponsored event that featured free massages, yoga lessons, Pilates and other tension relievers. UAB communications officer and advertising sophomore Tiffany Weber said the event was part of the group's extended "Just Chill Weekend," which included a craft night, open-mic night and free ice skating at Munn Ice Arena. "It seemed appropriate with finals coming up to have just a whole week of relaxation," Weber said. At the event, students also could enjoy free ice cream cones, paint their nails, create their own massage oils or play a quiet game of Yahtzee or Guess Who. The featured speaker for the night was social work graduate student Beth Krenek, who discussed ways students could cope with the multitude of exams, term papers and lab reports. Krenek said the average person has more than 50,000 thoughts a day, which can often overwhelm and frustrate them to the point where they shut down and stop focusing on each individually. "A lot of times, when we have something to do, we waste time worrying about the thing instead of just doing it," Krenek said.
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, insurance lawyer Shereef Akeel said more Muslim clients from Iraq who were discriminated against came to him for legal help.