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MSU

International students win essay contest

Judith Njogu smiles at strangers since her arrival to the United States from Nairobi, Kenya. In Kenya, people are friendly and hospitable only after having their initial introduction, said Njogu, a medical technology and premedical senior.

MSU

New study links stress and aging

Finals can cause students to stress out, but for people who perpetually feel pressured beyond coping capacity, the anxiety can actually cause their bodies to age. A recent study by Elizabeth Blackburn at University of California in San Fransisco has linked chronic stress to rapid cellular aging in women. The research could be relevant to college students who think they do not have the resources to cope with school and work, said Blackburn, a professor of biochemistry and biophysics. "Short-term acute stress is not bad for you - it's when it is day in and day out and you don't have the resources to deal with it," Blackburn said. According to the 2004 National College Health Assessment, 78 percent of students reported feeling stressed.

MSU

Engineers help detect faulty heart valves

About 2,000 people have ticking time bombs inside of their hearts. Students at the MSU College of Engineering are looking for a way to defuse them. Graduate students Naveen Nair and Michael Chan are working with five other students to develop detection methods for faulty heart valves implanted in thousands of patients from the 1960s until the mid-1980s.

MSU

Botanical club to hold environmental session

The Red Cedar chapter of the Michigan Botanical Club will hold a meeting at 7 p.m. today in room 168 of the Plant Biology Laboratories. Beginning at 7:30 p.m., students who attended the 2004 Spring Foray will discuss their experiences.

MSU

ASMSU to push for new minors

In its continuing effort to institute undergraduate minors to MSU's degree program, ASMSU decided to lobby the administration for a more rigorous credit workload with minors. MSU's undergraduate student government's Academic Assembly decided to push for minors that would require 15 or more credits of work in a subject area. The assembly was divided on whether to institute a system similar to the University of Michigan's 15-18 credit load, or follow MSU's teaching program and its more than 20-credit minors. Academic Assembly Chairperson Dan Weber prefaced the assembly's debate on minors, saying that ASMSU doesn't have the wherewithal to institute new minors, but could encourage them. "If we go 15 credits, we'd encourage new minors, like in Spanish and Japanese," Weber said.

MSU

Group provides support for transgender students

Providing a support system for transgender individuals is the primary focus of a new campus group established this semester. Phi Tau Mu, the Greek letters FTM in English, stands for "Female to Male" and allows those in the transgender community to hold serious discussions about issues they deal with on a daily basis. There are five members in the group who have formed a brotherhood and understand each other on levels other people cannot, said T.J.

MSU

Bradley discusses election

The 2004 presidential election and its outcome was the focus of former senator, professional basketball player and former Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley's speech Friday.

MSU

Gamers compete in dancing revolution

By Lindsay Poisson Special to The State News A dark International Center was filled with flashing lights, a large crowd and frenzied dancers during the Univeristy Activities Board's first Dance, Dance Revolution Tournament on Friday. About 50 students competed in the new form of dance. In the dining area of Crossroads Food Court, tables and chairs were pushed aside to make room for the three machines loaned by Pinball Pete's, 220 Albert Ave.

MSU

Advent season underway

Two snow-white candles flickered in an evergreen wreath Sunday morning symbolizing that two weeks of Advent have taken place - a pink and white candle remained untouched by flames. The season of Advent marks the month before Christmas and the Christian church new year as is represented by the purple pendants and advent wreath at St.

MSU

WEB UPDATE: Bowling Green slips past MSU hockey, 2-1

Untimely penalties, missed chances and a hot goaltender all led to the MSU hockey team's demise at the hands of Bowling Green (7-3-2, 4-2-2 CCHA), 2-1, Friday night at Munn Ice Arena. "(There were) too many bad penalties," MSU head coach Rick Comley said.

MSU

$1.5 M grant awarded for new professor

A $1.5 million grant will fund the Osteopathic Heritage Professor, a new professorship in the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine. The grant, from the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations, will help create an endowed chairperson position, focused on biomedical research.

MSU

Middle school students job shadow 'U' police

The pyrotechnics won them over. Eight Gardner Middle School eighth graders filed through the MSU police station adopting aloof stances as they learned about the department's roles on campus. But when Safety Services Supervisor Eric Bak set off a series of loud explosions, designed to chase away groups of geese swarming on MSU grounds, the students became animated - laughing and volunteering for the next activity. From the Cyclotron to the Plant and Soil Sciences Building, 84 students from one of Lansing's six middle schools spent their Thursday on campus discovering nonstandard career options. "It's important for students to see what officers do - to let them know there are a variety of possibilities within law enforcement," MSU police Sgt.

MSU

Bill Bradley to speak about election today

Former senator, basketball player and presidential candidate Bill Bradley will speak at 2:30 p.m. today in room N-100 in the Business College Complex. Bradley was brought to MSU by the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research. "We were interested in bringing a speaker of national prominence to speak about the election," said Brian McGrain, manager of special projects at the center.

MSU

Groups demonstrate against sweatshops

Students for Economic Justice and Movimiento Estudiantil Xicano de Aztlan raised awareness for workers' rights issues Thursday during a demonstration outside Wells Hall that included sweatshop clotheslines. The demonstration was part of a United Students Against Sweatshops national day of action in which universities across the country hoped to make communities aware of sweatshop conditions. Students at the University of Michigan, Grand Valley State University and Western Michigan University also held events Thursday, said David Mitchell, a Students for Economic Justice, or SEJ, member. SEJ and Movimiento Estudiantil Xicano de Aztlan, or MEXA, students passed out flyers and encouraged students to sign a petition for MSU to join the Worker Rights Consortium. "It's imperative that we allow the people who make our clothes to have rights," SEJ member Holly Gist said. The Worker Rights Consortium, or WRC, is a group of universities and students who work to insure university apparel is not manufactured in sweat shops.

MSU

RHA approves new executive secretary

Stefanie Simari will replace Cory Lee Rose, who left the office because of personal reasons. The executive secretary serves as the office manager for the RHA offices in both Holden Hall and Student Services.

MSU

'U' researcher finds bee chemical

The secret's out of the hive. A long-researched and previously elusive chemical in bees that makes them stay around the hive instead of venturing into the outside world was recently discovered. Zachary Huang, an associate professor in the Department of Entomology, published research 12 years ago that said some bees stay in the hive and others go out to collect nectar and defend the hive, but Huang never knew why. His discovery of what's called the primer pheromone in bees explains the behavior.