Events to honor Day of the Dead, hunger strike

MSU students can participate in a Day of the Dead project from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday in room 200 in South Kedzie Hall.

SN Style: Top it off this season

Both practical and fashionable, hats are a staple this season. Popular styles for men and women range from newsboy hats to fedoras and porkpies — and that's just the beginning.

Police briefs 10/31/06

Local coaches: No on Prop 2

Okemos — MSU basketball coaches Tom Izzo and Joanne P. McCallie denounced Proposal 2 Monday afternoon, saying the ballot initiative would harm diversity in the state. They were joined by several other collegiate basketball coaches, including Tommy Amaker from University of Michigan and Ernie Zeigler from Central Michigan University. Izzo urged Michigan voters to oppose Proposal 2. "We should be trying to take steps forward," Izzo said.

Provost addresses MCRI, Coke in ISS class

MSU Provost Kim Wilcox was placed in the hot seat during one of Assistant Professor Fayyaz Hussain's ISS 215 classes Monday, when Hussain instructed students to ask Wilcox "whatever is on your mind." Questions from students included topics ranging from environmental issues to ballot proposals. Hussain said he wanted to get Wilcox's view on the accessibility of education — a topic that is part of Hussain's curriculum. "I always try to bring in people from the outside because I teach something from my point of view, and more people's points of view are always good," Hussain said. Wilcox began by giving background information about himself, in particular, his journey from an MSU student to the provost of the university he graduated from. Question: Why have MSU officials not cut their contract with Coca-Cola Co. in response to the workers' rights issues in Colombia?

Group's global outreach admirable

Students in an ISS class have taken what was meant only to be a presentation and turned it into something that could make a difference.

Monday Musings

Smokey IX, Tennessee's canine mascot, was accused of biting an Alabama player before the teams played. In a related story, Indiana head coach Terry Hoeppner complained Saturday that Sparty gave one of his players a wedgie. NBA Commissioner David Stern said during a preseason conference call that he'd prefer it if the league's players leave their firearms behind when they go out. Stern did make one exception: Dallas Mavericks players are not only allowed, but also encouraged to bring guns to any team function where Mark Cuban is present. The Miami (Fla.) football players who were suspended for their role in a sideline-clearing brawl will participate in the Miami-Dade County police's "Join a Team, Not a Gang" program as part of their sanctioning. The players also are responsible for creating a new motto for the program, but they were rejected when they gave their initial proposal: "As long as it's a team that gets in fights!" After the NCAA rejected McMurry University's appeals to keep its American Indian mascot last week, the school's board of trustees decided to forgo a nickname altogether. Now, school officials must decide which one-word name they want to go by: Pelé, Cher or Shakira. The NCAA declared 7-foot-3 UConn freshman Hasheem Thabeet eligible to play this season. It also declared him to be huge. Glendale Arena, home of the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes, will be renamed after the online employment service Jobing.com, the team announced last week. The team also considered selling the arena's naming rights to Facebook.com, but reconsidered when the Web site asked to keep a mini-feed of every fan in attendance.

MIDDAY UPDATE: Candidates target women in governor's race

Lydia Weiss plans to vote for Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Nov. 7, but it's not because Granholm is a woman, Weiss said. "She's the pro-choice candidate.

Group does community service to honor Gandhi

Some members of the Coalition of Indian Undergraduate Students would have painted homes Saturday if it had not rained.

Marriage values, morals are important for this black female

Between my twin sister and I, one of us likely won't get married. Black men are either incarcerated, jobless (so they can't financially support a marriage) or involved in interracial relationships.

MSU wins finale, but postseason hopes dashed

When the MSU women's soccer team completed a 1-0 win against Michigan in its final game of the season Friday, all the Spartans could do was cross their fingers and wait.

Shopping center to offer trick-or-treating

Children can trick-or-treat for free tonight at the 5th annual Halloween at Eastwood Towne Center from 4-6 p.m.

No comeback this time

Bloomington, Ind. — First, it was Illinois' Juice Williams. Then, Ohio State's Troy Smith. On Saturday, the MSU football team made another opposing quarterback look like a transcendent talent, allowing Indiana's Kellen Lewis to pass for five touchdowns and run for a sixth in a 46-21 defeat at Memorial Field. "He's a great athlete — running and passing," said junior defensive end Ervin Baldwin.

Mich. needs more higher ed funding

Two coinciding figures were recently released, and both leave Michigan students and employees-to-be in even more of a bind than they were already in.

Trolley connects E.L., Lansing bar scenes

Teresa Reyna lives in Lansing, but when the Spanish senior feels like dancing with her friends, she drives to her favorite club in East Lansing. Reyna might be one of those who benefit from a new San Francisco-style trolley that began operating this past weekend between East Lansing and downtown Lansing.

Comeback was fool's gold it's time for Smith to go

When do you pull the plug? When lesser opponents are dominating? When players are showing up on the police blotter?

On the road

St. Louis — My experience at Game 5 of the 2006 World Series went like this: 27 outs, 24 outs, 21 outs, and so on and until it was the final out with two Tigers left on base. I hadn't quite given up hope, as Adam Wainwright's pitching wasn't up to its usual standard. But Wainwright took a new approach for the final out — three curveballs making their way in for strikes to end the Tigers' hopes of a World Series win. Tigers fans all over the country shared in these experiences with me. But my story of Game 5 was complicated by the fact that I was deep inside enemy territory — less than 10 rows off the fence in left center field. Surrounded by Cardinals fans, I was booed, harassed and jeered for every out of every inning on the way to an embarrassing loss. However, I cheered when Justin Verlander stepped up to put away some tough St.

Men: Ohio St. preseason No. 1, MSU not in Top 3

Chicago — It's a great time to be an Ohio State fan. With its football team already ranked No.

Google's monopoly on Internet convenience making life easier

On special occasions, you can log onto www.google.com and find the Web site's banner with an array of festive decorations, depending on the holiday or commemorative date. Instead, Google's webmasters should rethink this scheme and portray their Web site in a more accurate light — the two Os should be eyes. Google has become the Big Brother of the world — and you don't hear me complaining.

Coach Smith making lazy mistakes during games

With all the negative buzz facing the MSU football team this year, I agree it is hard to tune into a Spartans game when all I see are lazy mistakes.