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Entertainment

FEATURES

Wanna roll? Belly-dancing surges in area

What’s the sexiest part of the human body? Well, according to the latest trend in the entertainment industry, it’s the tummy. As pop starlets such as Britney Spears continue to flaunt their sexy midriffs, many are looking for a way to accentuate it. A popular solution appears to be belly-dancing, the ancient Middle Eastern form of dance.

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Technology opens doors for disabled

Technology allowing learners to glide through computer programs with the wink of an eye is just one of many devices available to students with disabilities at MSU.Both the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities and the Artificial Language Laboratory have been working for more than 20 years to provide software and devices to students with mental and physical disabilities to help them communicate with others.“With the help of technology, you can get a job and have a normal life,” said Stephen Blosser, Assistive Technology Center coordinator.

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A taste of local class adds up

If you’re sick of Bell’s 89-cent pizza, maybe it’s time for a more upscale change. East Lansing has many fine-dining restaurants to cater to students’ and residents’ tastes. Evergreen Grill, 327 Abbott Road, offers a menu with selections ranging from fresh fish to pastas to poultry.

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New park attracts boarders

They flip, dip, turn and twist on rails, concrete or any surface they can get their hands on.And they do it on four wheels.They are skateboarders - an increasingly popular sport that is taking over the East Lansing and Lansing areas.“I used to be a surfer, but since I’m stuck in Michigan, skateboarding is the next best thing,” MSU-Detroit College of Law junior Rich Decky said.

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Online programs boost security

Security officials around the world could be better prepared for protecting the globe after participating in an online institute offered by MSU. The Global Community Security Institute is an online program that educates and certifies security officials and public servants to improve security and safety. The programs, stemming from some already existing and others newly formed, can be custom designed for individual organizations or communities. Community officials from across the nation have shown interest in participating in programs like the global institute, said Ed McGarrell, director of the School of Criminal Justice. “Obviously we want to first meet the needs of Michigan, but we’re thinking nationally as well,” he said. The program is funded entirely by federal dollars from the homeland security initiative, he said. “Every community within the state and country since Sept.

FEATURES

Gardens help U relax, learn

More than 12-and-a-half acres of gardens on campus provide MSU students and the community with a place to learn and enjoy plants.The Horticultural Demonstration Gardens and the W.J.

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Local groups add to areas drama scene

Though there are several attractions already on campus, Greater Lansing rounds out the theater selection. Lansing is home to three theaters and theater groups that continually produce a diversity of performances. BoarsHead Theater, 425 S.

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Opening planned for mall

Developers of the Lansing area’s newest mall, Eastwood Towne Center, will try to capture the interest of MSU students through a spirited campaign.Spartan spirit, that is.Eastwood Towne Center, a mall that has been 15 years in the making, will complete the trifecta of Lansing-area shopping malls starting Sept.

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Gaming provides needed escape

Everyone remembers their first time. The fumbling fingers, the nervous sweat and the way you can barely blink as you watch every move that’s happening in front of you, trying to keep up and make a good showing.

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Wharton brings big Broadway to U

Broadway is making a little stop on the MSU campus this year to provide students with an amazing lineup of original and legendary shows.Wharton Center is celebrating its 20th anniversary season and will host six Broadway shows and musicals from September to April.“Basically, we’re bringing back the best of the best for our 20th anniversary - and then adding to it,” public relations manager Bob Hoffman said.

FEATURES

A Ways Away balances music, academics

Even with hectic college schedules, student musicians still find the time to rock out, often starting bands with friends and playing the local party or club scene.A Ways Away was formed by MSU students when they began playing together two years ago and gave birth to a five-member indie rock band with its own passionate sound for fans of all ages.“We usually play for teens 15 and up,” singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboard player Dan Kostrzewa said.

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Big, small cinemas provide U options

For students worn out by studying, partying or working, movie theaters are a great place to unwind and catch the latest blockbuster. The Lansing area has several options for moviegoers. Celebration Cinema, 200 Edgewood Blvd.

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Farming frontier

The scenery changes south of campus.High-rise dormitories and herds of people give way to rolling green rows of crops and massive mooing cows.The senses are relieved from car exhaust fumes and pervaded with scents of fresh grass and cow manure.The tiny one-way turns of campus and traffic circles straighten out and turn into long stretches of rural roads that wind through MSU’s 5,000 acres of farmland.But the roads find their way back to central campus.The research conducted at the expansive farms south of central campus ekes its way back into classrooms, into computers, into the minds and departments of the people at MSU.Mark Collins manages one of the many farms at MSU - the Hancock Turfgrass Research Center, which grows, cultivates and researches thousands of types of grass.“We work to find the ones that fit Michigan best,” Collins said.“We work with grass to give athletes safer playing conditions - and make healthy grass for homeowners that’s more aesthetically pleasing.”The new grass in Spartan Stadium that now graces the footsteps of quarterback Jeff Smoker cost more than $2.5 million and took 18 months of work, Collins said.Workers plant the grass during the fall, since it thrives in cooler temperatures, but researchers work year-round.The turf management farm, with small greens and neatly mowed fields that require daily upkeep, doesn’t look like most of MSU’s farms.The dairy and sheep farms south of campus seem more like the farms students might be used to seeing.

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Being an American at heart, foreigner on paper aint easy

Being yourself can be pretty tough these days. It’s hard when all you want is to just be - but certain things stop you from doing that.There’s nothing I want more than to lie my head down at night and know that in a year or so I won’t have to leave a place I love, am comfortable with and that’s a part of me.

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A different sort of fore

The hole, a benign par 3 according to the much-graffitied sign, taunts mercilessly.The fairway - an 8-foot clearing before the trees start in earnest - curves slightly to the right before dropping off sharply, the red flag atop the basket barely visible from the tee.A distinctive “ching!” rings out from what constitutes the green as a disc lands hard in the metal basket.