Monday, July 6, 2026

Take a peek behind the curtain and test drive the NEW StateNews.com today!

Multimedia

MSU

MSU hosts intro for teaching assistants

Emily Wilkins
August 11, 2010

Sixty students from about 25 different countries came to MSU for a three-day orientation to the U.S. culture and its customs called Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant program, or FLTA. MSU is one of eight schools selected to hold an orientation program for FLTA. The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and administered by the Institute of International Education, or IIE.

MSU

MSU research assists Dow energy projects

Alanna Thiede
August 11, 2010

Michigan homes could benefit from a new initiative focusing on retrofitting existing structures using energy efficient insulation, equipment and other strategies to reduce energy consumption by up to 50 percent. MSU’s School of Planning, Design & Construction and Institute for Public Policy and Social Research’s Office for Survey Research will join Dow Building and Construction, Habitat for Humanity International and Ferris State University on a multiyear initiative funded by the U.S.

MSU

MSU law professors believe race might factor into death penalty

Ashley Brown
August 11, 2010

Finding a possible correlation between race and justice, two MSU law professors statistically found race might play a role in North Carolina convicts being sentenced to the death penalty. MSU law professors Catherine Grosso and Barbara O’Brien began to research capital punishment cases in North Carolina about a year ago after the passing of the Racial Justice Act, which allows death row inmates in the state to appeal their sentences based on racial discrimination.

MSU

MSU officials merge landscaping material to save money

Andrew Krietz
August 11, 2010

MSU officials look to pile on the savings once the merging of landscaping materials is complete. About three piles of materials are in the process of being moved into one centralized location at the Beaumont Nursery in an attempt to increase efficiency and reduce costs by officials at the Physical Plant.

MSU

MSU professor discovers rare reptile fossil

Pat Evans
August 11, 2010

Animals in prehistoric Africa might have taken a drastically different evolutionary route than scientists previously thought, according to the results of a recent fossil discovered by an MSU professor in Tanzania. MSU professor and paleontologist Michael Gottfried was part of a research group, led by Ohio University professor Patrick O’Connor, that uncovered a mammal-like crocodile in the country located in southeastern Africa.

COMMENTARY

When more is not always merrier

Oh man, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled California’s Proposition 8 unconstitutional a few weeks ago. I wasn’t surprised. A few months ago, I read that conservative lawyer Theodore Olson would take up the banner for gay marriage and immediately thought, “So, this is a done deal, right?”

COMMENTARY

Program offers hope of future bipartisanship

Sharing and working together are elementary behaviors taught during our early years in an effort to get us used to the ideas of life’s great compromise: We can’t always get what we want. MSU has taken an opportunity to teach legislators something they can’t learn in a classroom or on the pages of a book, a basic how-to guide on balancing politics with various personalities.

FEATURES

Underwater hockey club draws diverse group

Cole Bertsos
August 11, 2010

In high school, Aaron Schwartz-Duval was on the swim team. Not wanting to abandon the pool entirely after going to college, he decided to embrace a different kind of water sport — underwater hockey. After joining the MSU underwater hockey club, Schwartz-Duval, now a biochemistry and molecular biology junior, said he’s gained an appreciation and understanding of a sport many in the U.S. don’t even know exists.

MSU

MSU Garden Plant Showcase educates horticulture experts

Alanna Thiede
August 10, 2010

Horticulturists, landscapers and other industry professionals wandered throughout MSU’s Trial Gardens inspecting blossoms for their color and durability among the varieties of this year’s plant breeds at the MSU Garden Plant Showcase. About 70 professional landscapers, horticulturists and plant breeders attended the annual showcase event held in the Plant and Soil Sciences Building and Trial Gardens. The day-long event featured presenters from MSU faculty and staff, as well as industry experts.

MSU

MSU vets use new technology to preserve salamander population

Ashley Brown
August 10, 2010

After learning North America’s largest salamander was in danger of extinction, MSU veterinarians have teamed up with two zoos to start researching the sticky situation. Due to the declining populations of the hellbender salamander, MSU researchers — with help from the Nashville Zoo and Antwerp Zoo in Belgium — have been tracking and collecting sperm samples from the remaining salamanders.

MICHIGAN

Emergency notification system to inform Ingham County residents

Andrew Krietz
August 10, 2010

A new initiative is giving residents of Ingham County an opportunity to receive notifications of emergencies and traffic advisories from across the county. East Lansing officials and the East Lansing Police Department are encouraging people to sign up for Nixle, an online information service that allows local governments to send real-time text messages and e-mails to subscribers. City Manager Ted Staton said the service is an alternative to traditional means of broadcasting important information — such as a radio station alerting the public of a road closure. “So many people are very tech savvy — that is where they get important news,” Staton said.

NEWS

Area Muslims prepare for Ramadan

Aseel Machi
August 9, 2010

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins Wednesday, and Muslims in the MSU and East Lansing community are preparing for a month of fasting, charity and an increased emphasis on family and friends.

NEWS

Software companies' legal battle affects MSU

Emily Wilkins
August 9, 2010

In November, MSU switched its library cataloging services from one company to another to save money. But a lawsuit filed two weeks ago in U.S. District Court by the company that now provides MSU’s cataloging services against the company whose software formerly was used might change that.

MICHIGAN

StateSide deli prepares to open E.L. location

Pat Evans
August 9, 2010

The second location of StateSide Deli, which will open Wednesday in downtown East Lansing, will fulfill the name of the store, a sentiment missing from the original location in Okemos. With the newest location of StateSide Deli, 313 E. Grand River Ave., Spencer Soka, the deli’s owner, said he is planning on the New York-style deli to be an MSU mainstay.