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MSU

Hanukkah to fall on Thanksgiving for first time since 19th century

April Jones
November 27, 2013

What do you get when Thanksgiving falls late and the Jewish calendar is in a leap year? The result is a collaboration of two major holidays known as Thanksgivukkah. Hanukkah officially began at sunset on Wednesday, and this the first time since the late 19th century that Hanukkah and Thanksgiving overlapped. Experts say it’s something that won’t happen again for about 70,000 years.

ICE HOCKEY

Hockey hopes to see boost as Berry, Draeger return

Robert Bondy
November 27, 2013

Not a whole lot has been going right so far this season for MSU (3-7) after dropping two more games this past weekend to extend the team’s current losing streak to four, but the return of a couple Spartan stars could change the team’s fortune. Both junior forward Matt Berry and sophomore defenseman John Draeger made their first appearances of the season Friday night against Western Michigan after missing the first eight games of the season because of lower body injuries.

NEWS

National research shows use of cellphones in classrooms changing student learning

Simon Schuster
November 25, 2013

When professor Richard Brandenburg first arrived at MSU in 1965, things were very different. “At one point in time when you went to class, you were there, and there was no way for you to be interrupted unless the dean came and got you and took you out of class,” Brandenburg said. He said in a previous interview with The State News that students now are in constant interaction with an outside world, “and it’s very distracting.” “The distractions that technology allows interferes with learning,” he said. As a result of his view, Brandenburg does not allow use the of laptops and cell phones during his lectures. A recent study published in the Journal of Media Education found that undergraduate students use digital devices in class 11 times each day, on average, for non-class purposes. According to the study, more than 90 percent of students admitted to using their devices for non-class activities during class time. In the same study, eighty-six percent of students reported their reason for

NEWS

Biker hit by driver

Katie Abdilla
November 25, 2013

An accident between a driver and a cyclist occurred at about 2 p.m. Monday afternoon near Case Hall, according to police. MSU police Sgt.

NEWS

New microscope being developed allows in-depth look at molecules

Celeste Bott
November 25, 2013

A new microscope being developed by MSU researchers will be powerful enough to capture the movement of atoms and molecules down to one millionth of a billionth of a second.mk “What if there was a camera precise and fast enough that we can take snapshots or make movies of atoms moving and chemical reactions as they’re happening?” physics graduate student Jenni Portman said.

NEWS

About $4,800 stolen from dorm room

Katie Abdilla
November 25, 2013

Money and electronics were stolen last week from a dorm room in East Holden Hall, according to police. Two roommates, both male students, reported to police that an unknown individual entered their room between 4 and 7 a.m.

MICHIGAN

K-9 'Tex' retires after nearly seven years of service with MSUPD

Katie Abdilla
November 25, 2013

In the nearly seven years he’s been in the MSU Police Department’s K-9 Unit, Officer Mike Cantrell and his dog, Semtex, have formed a bond that will be tough to go without and even tougher to match. But last week, Cantrell’s German Shepherd, nicknamed “Tex,” went to work with him for the last time. Specifically trained to track people and explosives, 8-year-old Tex officially has retired.

MICHIGAN

Education students to face harder proficiency exams

Aspiring teachers might want to spend more time studying for the teacher certification test: the initial pass rate for the required test to be admitted to teacher preparation programs fell from 82 to 26 percent after the state made it more rigorous this fall. The Professional Readiness Examination, or PRE, measures students’ proficiency in reading, writing and math, and is usually taken before their junior year of college.

VOLLEYBALL

What to watch for over break

The State News Sports Desk
November 25, 2013

Most MSU students will home preparing, eating or working off a Thanksgiving feast over break, but the Spartans will be on the field, court, ice and mat working hard to give MSU some victories. Check out what will be happening in the Green and White world of sports over the holiday week.

MSU

MSU student group to send medical goods to those affected by Typhoon Haiyan

Micaela Colonna
November 25, 2013

A student group is teaming up with the MSU’s Institute of International Health to pack and send supply boxes to those in the Philippines affected by Typhoon Haiyan. The boxes will contain medical supplies donated by local hospitals, and include but are not limited to gowns, syringes, catheters and surgical equipment. The effort is being headed by Generate Help 2 Heal Generations, a student-founded nonprofit that provides aid to people in poor countries, is heading the effort. Marco Botros, the group’s president, said it’s important to give these resources to those in need, especially after the wake of a natural disaster.

FEATURES

Compassionate Feast helps Lansing-area residents

Cayden Royce
November 25, 2013

About 45 Lansing-area community volunteers stuffed hundreds of white boxes with Thanksgiving dinner fixings Monday morning at the Cristo Rey Community Center in Lansing Charter Township. The boxes were pieced together in partnership with the Old Town Commercial Association, or OTCA, for its 13th annual Compassionate Feast.