Motown leaves lasting impact on music, culture

Motown was a record label based in Detroit that was a powerhouse of hits in the 1960s and 1970s. Motown musicians, all of whom were Black performers, are often regarded as some of the most influential artists, with impacts that are felt in virtually every genre today. MSU and East Lansing community members reflect on the history and impact of Black music on American culture, and on their own musical journeys.

MSU professor uses comics, digital humanities to explore Afrofuturist stories

Chambliss said he's "often trying to recover stories about Black spaces" and people who have been "hidden in the record."

MSU’s African Studies Center celebrates its 65th anniversary

This year marks the 65th anniversary of MSU’s African Studies Center. Located in room 100 in the International Center, the African Studies Center is home to many events and programs that can help students learn more about Africa in a global context. 

MSU event gives back to community, provides support on two-year anniversary of shooting

Students and community members gathered for a Caring Through Service event Thursday to give back to the MSU community on the second anniversary of the campus mass shooting. 

MSU professor's abstract painting captures moments of horror he witnessed during shooting

His painting is an abstraction of the horror that occurred in just 15 minutes that night. He used colors, shapes and angles to convey the emotion and energy he felt in the classroom.

The Broad Art Museum works to curate a safe space for students

With the two year anniversary of the MSU shooting approaching, Maya Manuel, a co-curator of the exhibit and MSU alum, knew that she could make a space that students would want to visit and heal in. The exhibit was curated to bring awareness to gun violence and to depict healing through “artivism.”

MSU Museum's techno exhibit showcases Detroit history, culture

Running from Feb. 4 to April 30, the exhibition "Techno: The Rise of Detroit’s Machine Music" will be showcased at the MSU Museum. The lead exhibition curator and MSU english professor Julian Chambliss worked with community curator and administrative team member at the Underground Resistance (UR) John Collins to create this exhibit.

MSU Museum releases curriculum guide honoring Detroit's Black Bottom neighborhood

The MSU Museum has released a curriculum guide for teaching K-12 students about Detroit’s Black Bottom Neighborhood. The curriculum provides teachers and community leaders with lessons centering physical and oral artifacts that celebrate the neighborhood's people and history.

MSU Broad Art Museum reclaims space for healing two years after campus shooting

From now to Feb. 13, the museum will showcase the "Art in the Aftermath: Healing Gun Violence through Activism" exhibition. Consisting of a Soul Box Project and other art pieces, curators hope the space reminds visitors of the community formed after the 2023 campus shooting.

REO Town: Lansing's artsy district features friendly small businesses

REO Town, just across the highway in Lansing, is a vibrant district of small businesses that uplift one another and the community. From pottery studios, to bookstores, to unique restaurants, REO Town has a variety of things to offer for students that want to venture beyond campus property lines.

Cults, Hobbits, a missing student: Is MSU’s secret forest hideout lost to history?

The history of Party Hollow has gone largely unrecognized at MSU. But the bizarre tale behind this ordinary patch of land reveals how the university’s "misfits" found community in the middle of the woods.

A guide to thrifting near MSU

University students often want to get new things while being on a budget, making secondhand stores the perfect shopping grounds. The Lansing and East Lansing area has a variety of thrift stores for MSU students to explore.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib talks policy, advocacy at virtual MSU student event

Rep. Rashida Tlaib joined Michigan State University students via Zoom Thursday to discuss pressing issues, including the dismantling of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives under the Trump administration and the recent ceasefire in Gaza. 

State representative Julie Brixie presents $125,000 to MSU Student Food Bank

On Monday, Jan. 27, State Rep. Julie Brixie presented a tribute of $125,000 to the MSU Student Food Bank. Brixie presented the tribute and took a tour of the MSU Student Food Bank facilities, located in Olin Health Center. The tribute will go toward efforts to expand their services, as more and more students utilize the food bank each semester.

Public art provides a sense of place, community

The East Lansing Public Arts Commission and the Public Art on Campus Committee work to ensure that public art installations are a part of construction or development projects in East Lansing and on MSU's campus. These groups aim to incorporate public art in order to provide a sense of community, provoke thought and elicit emotions.

New MSU Broad Museum exhibit focuses on food justice, agriculture in Michigan

A new exhibition at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum focuses on food justice and its wide-ranging implications. Looking at the history and impact of agriculture in Michigan, the collection explores "questions of food knowledge, production, scarcity, and consumption."

MSU 'Stuff the Library' book drive aims to provide diverse literature for school libraries

Through February, the MSU community can give books or monetary donations to the Stuff the Library book drive, which is an effort to put more books that celebrate diversity and represent students of many backgrounds into school libraries. 

MSU Students for Justice in Palestine remember lives lost amid ceasefire

Students endured below freezing temperatures Thursday night to honor those killed in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war, in light of the recent ceasefire. Over cups of hot chocolate, they painted The Rock with an image of the Palestinian flag and words over it that read "NO JUSTICE NO PEACE."

Daughter of Malcolm X, Ilyasah Shabazz, speaks on continuing father's legacy at MSU forum

Daughter of Malcolm X, Ilyasah Shabazz, spoke at MSU's fourth annual Malcolm X Muslim Studies Community Forum on Tuesday. She spoke about her father's legacy and inspiring a new generation of "change-makers."

Groups look to start community gardens as food insecurity grows in East Lansing