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MSU

'The Vagina Monologues' returns to MSU

Megan Cochrane
October 13, 2014

How many women/individuals identifying as women did you have audition for the show this year?“We had around 50 women audition for the show this year.”Was there anything that made this year’s audition experience more special or different than in years past?“This year we were pleasantly surprised to see more community members audition for the show. We have been trying to branch out to the East Lansing and Lansing community for the past couple years. I believe most people tend to think this show is restricted to students simply because it is a Michigan State organization. Not only are we happy to have a few more community members, but we are incredibly excited about having the Executive Director of this year's beneficiary in our production.”What are you most excited for about this year’s show?“This year I am most excited about seeing how the cast will grow and connect with each other throughout the show. Yes, this is a production, but we have a purpose bigger than that. We are doing this show for the women who lived these stories, and to help our community become a safer and more reliable place for survivors of sexual violence.”How do you hope this show and this movement will affect MSU’s student body?“I hope that this show, if anything, will spark further discussion and awareness for the prevalence of this violence throughout the world and within our own MSU community. It is easy to ignore and to be uncomfortable with this topic, but Vmons is here to bring this discussion forward and to help people connect and relate to this issue so that we, as a community, can work to end it.”How did you get involved with VMONS?“I got involved with Vmons through the Sexual Assault Crisis Intervention team here at MSU. I've always been a performer, and when people from SACI told me there was a production I could not only perform in, but could help bring awareness to an issue I care about, I was all in. I made the cast, and was lucky enough to then be chosen as a Director. Last year was my first year Directing, and I'm even more excited to be a veteran Director this year.”This year’s beneficiary: “The Firecracker Foundation...you're the first person we have told.”

FEATURES

MSU alumni start music stock market based on concept of fantasy football

Ian Martin
October 12, 2014

By Ian MartinIt all began at P’T O’Malley’s. This may sound like the beginning of a story about to describe a night of a drunken excursion, but it’s actually where international relations graduate Derek Debiak, got the inspiration to launch the MSU startup company, ‘The Song Market.’“I was at a bar with my friends - PT O’Malleys to be exact.

FEATURES

Student draws on troubled past as lead role in Carrie the Musical

Brittanie Chludzinski
October 12, 2014

Artistic Director of New York Theatre Barn, Joe Barros Writer, producer, director, and award-winning choreographer Recipient of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society’s Guest Artist Initiative Works as artistic director at a theatre company that develops all new musicalsThe company is about 7 years old “I am the recipient of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation Guest Artist Initiative. I was part of a selection process and then I was interviewed by people from the department and was chosen” First time I have ever done it and second time MSU has received it -Two years ago they received it for a production of the Wizard of Oz -MSU apply for it ….it’s an initiative to bring professional directors and choreographers from around the country to college universities Guest director and guest choreography. It was all on him…collaborating with the faculty and graduate student designers since February There are new elements in addition to lighting, sound, and costumes “Our concept is all about bullying and how technology affects bullying.” All of the actors use cell phones in the show where audience members can tweet, use innovative technology to further bring out this colorI recently wrote a musical for teenagers about bullying and I discovered that the philosophy of that musical is really what Carrie is about What my show is about, and what Carrie is about is,” where are all the bullies of everyone being bullied?” Changing the philosophy from “what is the world doing to me,” to “what am I offering to the world” what is the energy I’m putting out there?"Rather than being a supernatural horror story about a girl who has magic powers and kills people, Carrie is a cautionary tale about a girl who was pushed past her boiling point because she is teased and bullied," Barros said. "It’s not that different from what happened in Columbine or Virginia Tech or any recent school shootings. While Carrie has superpowers, those superpowers parallel to the guns and weapons that people bring to school as a result of the bullying they receive." 

FOOTBALL

MSU football survives late rally to defeat Purdue 45-31

Robert Bondy
October 12, 2014

No. 8 MSU football experienced deja vu on Saturday.

SPORTS

Swimming and diving enjoys warm weather during weekend outdoor meet

Katie Winkler
October 12, 2014

When the swim meet against Denison and Grand Valley was scheduled, coaches and athletes weren’t sure what to expect for an outdoor competition in mid-October. MSU lucked out this Saturday with sunny weather reaching the upper 50s, where the swimming and diving team performed in the shadow of Spartan Stadium.

MSU

Melanie Foster, former MSU trustee, discusses reelection bid

Jameson Joyce
October 12, 2014

MSU College Republicans welcomed MSU trustee candidate Melanie Foster, dressed in a vintage green and white football sweater, on Wednesday night as the guest speaker at their weekly meeting.As a former trustee, Foster lost her re-election bid in the 2012 election to current Board of Trustees member Brian Mosallam.