'Walk' donations raise concern

Members of PRISM, South Complex's lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender and straight alliance group, are concerned with the "I Stop Hate: MSU United" campaign for planning to donate a share of the proceeds from its Charity Walk on Sunday to the American Red Cross. PRISM member John Herbst said the American Red Cross discriminates against homosexual men. According to its Web site, the American Red Cross warns donors "should not give blood if you have AIDS or have ever had a positive HIV test, or if you have done something that puts you at risk for becoming infected with HIV." It also specifies: "You are at risk for getting infected if you … are a male who has had sexual contact with another male, even once, since 1977." "Since the American Red Cross does discriminate against people who would like to donate blood, we don't feel that's a suitable organization to donate to, coming from the 'I Stop Hate' campaign," Herbst said. Ann Kammerer, the American Red Cross' Great Lakes Region Blood Service Center spokeswoman, said the guideline applies to the "entire blood-banking community." "It's not a Red Cross policy," she said.

Free speech column has many flaws in argument

In response to "Getting thick skin" (SN 4/10), I would borrow from White House press secretary Tony Snow in describing Jessica Byrom's argument: "It melts on contact." First, she cannot assume people "were not outraged" at the vandalizing of a congressman's office during the anti-war protest.

Watching Dennis Jones? Try not to blink

Dennis Jones is fast. You can tell that much just by watching him patrol center field for the MSU baseball team. But it's hard to gauge just how fast he is unless you look at some of his cheetah-like statistics. Jones runs the 60-yard dash in 6.3 seconds — about the same pace as the MSU track team's all-time record holder in the 60-meter dash. He's stolen a team-high 10 bases in 11 attempts this season — only three players in the conference have stolen that many bases with better efficiency. Baseball scouts rate foot speed on a scale of 20 to 80.

Lyman Briggs School moves one step closer to college status

A proposal to change Lyman Briggs School from a school to a college was presented to Faculty Council on Tuesday and was unanimously approved. On April 17, the proposal will be presented to Academic Council.

More funding needed for educational technology

Much has been said recently about the so-called "iPod proposal" being debated in the Michigan House of Representatives.

Counteractive steps

If there is one overarching theme of all social studies classes, it's the idea that the study of history serves as a guide for the future.

Fashion police on campus

Carol Beard often encourages her clients to come out of the closet. No, not that closet. For the past five years, Beard has worked as a closet analyst, weeding through clients' clothes, pitching unattractive pieces and replacing them with more appealing articles. But in her spare time, Beard acts as the adviser for the Student Apparel Design Association, or SADA, using her knowledge to help MSU students' fashion dreams become runway realities. Since January, Beard and SADA students have gathered to plan Fashion Week.

Hankins named national team coach

MSU men's golf head coach Mark Hankins will be leading the U.S. men's golf team to the 2007 World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand. The U.S.

iPods for K-12 students unnecessary

When addressing the actions of Michigan's legislature, one has to sometimes step back and just wonder how any of these people got elected. Case in point: Michigan finds itself facing a debt — which comes to roughly $644 million for the current fiscal year alone, for those of you keeping track at home — and rather than the two parties working together to come up with a solution to the mounting crisis, each side just keeps wasting time. The latest example?

State documents are not required to be translated

After reading "English-only Mich. could trim deficit" (SN 4/10), I have a feeling Michigan may be able to finally get back on the right track if only people would stop rejecting ideas just because they come from conservatives.

Council wants plan prepared before vote

After six months of discussion, the East Lansing City Council isn't ready to vote on a proposed ordinance to ban homeless people from the city's parking facilities. It's not the ordinance that's causing the delay — it's how the city would end up implementing it that is the problem, council members said Tuesday. Instead of punishing, city officials want the proposal to benefit the homeless by providing them with proper shelter and resources to improve their well-being. "How do we take that theory and put it into practice?

Lacrosse makes comeback

Losing a big game early in a season may not seem like a very positive thing for a team, but certain squads bounce right back. The MSU men's club lacrosse team (7-1), after dropping its second game in Gainesville in early March, refused to let the loss column get any higher than one. The No.

Weather dampens spirits, practices

Jacquie Joseph has never seen weather like this in her time as MSU softball head coach. The snow storm that hit East Lansing on Wednesday canceled the Spartans' game against Central Michigan, marking the fifth game MSU has lost in the last week due to weather. "I can tell you in my 14 years here that this has never happened," Joseph said.

MSU board to consider gender identity policy

In 2002, student government officials introduced a proposal to add gender identity to MSU's Anti-Discrimination Policy.

Speaker to link Islam, hip-hop

Hip-hop died with 2Pac. At least, that is, by Hashim Alauddeen's definition of hip-hop. The music genre is supposed to be a form of resistance, speaking truth against injustice, said Alauddeen, a professor of African Diaspora studies at the Islamic Education Center in Houston. And the rapper 2Pac, or Tupac Amaru Shakur, represented that resistance — part of the legacy of Malcolm X, Alauddeen said. Since 2Pac's death in 1996 in Las Vegas, few mainstream hip-hop artists have followed this model, Alauddeen said. "There are still positive rappers, but they aren't mainstream, and that has to change," he said.

Police briefs 04/12/07

Gymnasts ready for NCAA Regional

If anything is going to bring the MSU gymnastics team to victory, it will be its teamwork. Team-oriented workouts, spirited group cheers and a solid support system have been regular parts of the team's vigorous preparation for the NCAA Central Regional Championship meet Saturday. "It helps us bond and learn how to perform as a team," freshman Nicole Curler said of the cooperative approach. "We are much more of a full pack.

Cold climate change

Slightly more than two weeks ago, students were traveling through campus on in-line skates and skateboards.

Leasing nightmare

The dorms are a lot like your parents. They provide food and shelter, wash your clothes and monitor your guests.

ASMSU's election conduct debatable

With this afternoon's chairperson elections, ASMSU's Student Assembly may have violated its code of operations, which specifies election guidelines. The assembly must be notified of the vacancy and time and place of the elections and applications must be available "no less than seventeen class days" prior to the date of the election, under Section 27 of the Student Assembly Code of Operations. Representatives could not specify the date they were informed of the elections nor could they verify when the date packets were made available. The code also states applications must be turned in no later than seven days before the election, but applications could be turned in up until Tuesday, two days before the election. Also, under Section 27, Part B, the ASMSU Director of Human Resources is required to inform the student body with details of the impending election in a newspaper advertisement days before the election.