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MSU

Sparty's party offers music, giveaways

Amy Davis
April 18, 2005

Doing cartwheels and dancing to rock music projected from a concert stage, 8-year-old Abby Mealy, of Okemos, couldn't stand still as she waited in line with her 5-year-old sister Amanda for a ride on the Ferris wheel at Demonstration Field on Saturday. From the top of the ride, Abby leaned forward in her seat to look at the activities going on at the fourth Sparty's Spring Party, which was sponsored by the University Activities Board, or UAB. "I like going fast, and I could see everything," Abby said.

MSU

Students build Habitat home

Josh Jarman
April 18, 2005

It's not much of a house to look at now, but soon it will be a home. Students from the MSU Habitat for Humanity chapter rolled up their sleeves this weekend to put the finishing touches on a house at 2509 Poplar St.

MSU

Students sell shirts about disturbances

MSU students Evan Dashe and Anthony Saladino have a message for the East Lansing Police Department, and they put it on a T-shirt. Dashe, an accounting junior and Saladino, a general management freshman, decided to create and sell T-shirts about the April 2-3 disturbances in East Lansing. The dark green shirts with white letters said, "Tear gas is not designed to extinguish fires." The shirts also had a derogatory message for the East Lansing Police Department on the back. About 3,000 people took the streets of East Lansing after the men's basketball team lost to the University of North Carolina in the Final Four.

MSU

Forum held for possible provost

Margaret Harding
April 15, 2005

Members of the MSU community spent an evening trying to find out if Virginia Sapiro is the best person for the position of provost. Sapiro, the associate vice chancellor for Teaching and Learning at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the first of five provost candidates who will tour campus, meet with students, faculty and administrators and host a public forum. While Sapiro answered audience questions during her forum, but students were not present in the about 100-person crowd.

MSU

Students, officials react to RIAA suits

One day after the Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA, filed 405 lawsuits for illegal file sharing at 18 colleges and universities - including 20 at MSU - members of the university community are beginning to react. "It's kind of ridiculous because I know a lot of people who do it," education freshman Colleen Goergen said.

MSU

RHA looks for options to keep Channel 12 afloat

Tom Keller
April 14, 2005

Almost two months after the university's surprise decision to shut down Channel 12 at the end of the semester, university officials and student-produced programs are looking for ways to salvage the channel but also prepare for life without it. The channel broadcasts free movies and student-produced programming to MSU's campus and surrounding cities. Residence Halls Association and University Housing have been looking into options to keep the channel afloat, but RHA President Kevin Newman said nothing has developed enough for him to be optimistic about the channel's short-term future. "At this point, I wouldn't expect anything next year to be different from the decisions the university has already made," Newman said. RHA pays about $15,000 a semester for the movies that air on the channel. One option being evaluated is a digital media player system that would substantially cut the channel's labor costs by enabling a month of its programming to be done in 30 minutes. But RHA Campus Center Director James Henderson said evaluations of the program are very preliminary, and he will meet next week with representatives of the company that makes the system to see if it is a feasible option. "We're looking at possibilities, but that's it," Henderson said.

MSU

Faculty introduce possible increase in salary

Margaret Harding
April 13, 2005

Faculty want a salary increase of 4.25 percent next year, and they are willing to pay more for their health care to get it. At Tuesday's Faculty Council meeting, the University Committee on Faculty Affairs presented the proposed increase as part of a five-year plan begun three years ago by MSU President Lou Anna K.

MSU

MSU resurrects 'Water Carnival' for fall event

Four MSU officials stood atop a wooden raft Tuesday, wearing orange life jackets as it floated down the Red Cedar River. As it drifted along, someone walking along the banks called out, "Which one's Tom Sawyer and which one's Huck Finn?" The tiny wooden raft was launched in the river to see if it could float.

MSU

MSU values to be reflected at commencement

A national health official will speak at graduate commencement ceremonies next month. Elias Zerhouni, director of the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, will speak at 7 p.m.

MSU

Bush fire contained by Akers residents

Lauren Phillips
April 12, 2005

A fire in bushes outside of East Akers Hall was extinguished at about 5:20 p.m. Monday by the East Lansing Fire Department and a few residents who grabbed fire extinguishers after smelling smoke. There they said they saw fire on the underside of a patch of bushes.

MSU

Officials: Admission rates for minorities consistent

Amy Davis  and  Josh Jarman
April 12, 2005

By the numbers, minority student enrollment is down slightly at MSU, but according to the Office of Affirmative Action, Compliance & Monitoring, the university's minority retention rate is above the national average. Each year, MSU publishes a report on the progress of initiatives that support diversity.

MSU

Marrow drive today at Union

By all rights, human biology senior Tom Mikulski said he shouldn't have survived the initial medical treatments for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma his mother received when she was pregnant with him 21 years ago. But a little more than a year ago, Mikulski was able to return the gift of life to his mother, Ellen Mikulski, by donating stem cells for a bone marrow transplant that was needed to cure her lymphoma. "I was awestruck and unbelieving that I could have a good, strong donor so close to my heart," said Ellen Mikulski, 58.