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Features

FEATURES

Students pursue love of gaming through video game design

Kateria Hines
October 16, 2015

Making video games is a dream for some gamers out there, but for some students it is a reality. Spartasoft is a game development organization, which focuses on preparing undergraduate students for the game design and development minor. This organization is not limited to people interested in the minor — anyone who has a passion for learning about how to create their own video games can join. “I think the biggest thing that (people) should know about Spartasoft, is that they don’t need to have any skills in game development to join," media and information senior Connor Kurtz said. "You just need to want to make games, and we’ll teach you from the ground up."  Kurtz has been involved with Spartasoft since his freshman year and is currently serving as the president of the organization. Spartasoft was established at MSU in 2001 and has grown significantly since then. During weekly meetings, the E-board along with some advanced members help the new members get adjusted to the game design software. Each week, members will learn about the different components when it comes to game design.

FEATURES

Students try the cupcake challenge

Ariana Taylor
October 13, 2015

Recently, the cupcake challenge has taken over the MSU Snapchat story. The goal is to eat a whole cupcake in one bite and without using hands. The State News asked students to try out the challenge and see if they could be successful. 

FEATURES

MSU premieres play as part of Big Ten Theatre Consortium

Kateria Hines
October 13, 2015

Incidents of racism have been prone to the U.S. for years now, but particularly on college campuses this has been an issue as well. Baltimore by Kristen Greenidge is a thought-provoking play that deals with the issue of racism on a college campus. The name of the play comes from a poem written by Countee Cullen called Incident, which discusses Baltimore in the context of racism. The play follows college freshmen, as they have to take on the issue of blatant racism after a racial drawing is written on someone’s whiteboard. Kristy Allen is a first year MFA candidate and portrays Dean Hernandez in the play spoke with the State News about why the play is important. “Regardless of what people feel like about the incident that is portrayed in the play, it leaves the audience with at least the idea that they should be able to have a conversation about race,” Allen said.

FEATURES

Student reflects on bike trip for a cause

Rachel Fradette
October 7, 2015

This past summer, Catherine Polgar, a sustainable parks, recreation and tourism junior, biked across the country to make a difference.  Polgar biked for the non-profit organization Bike & Build, which raises money and awareness for affordable housing in the United States.

FEATURES

Local band Desmond Jones brings the funk

Kateria Hines
October 4, 2015

Desmond Jones, a band which formed three years ago at MSU, spent the past weekend of their fall tour performing in the Lansing area. On Friday, they went back to their roots and performed a show at The Loft in Lansing with bands After Funk and Walsher Clemons. The band consists of MSU alumni John Nowak , Isaac Berkowitz , Chris Bota and John Loria , and Brandeis University alumnus George Falk.