Tuesday, June 23, 2026

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

Multimedia

NEWS

MIDDAY UPDATE: Old friends Smith, Erickson to reconnect on opposite sidelines

Steve Highfield
August 31, 2006

The State News When MSU head coach John L. Smith looks across the field to the opposing sideline tomorrow, he'll see more than the Idaho team and its coaching staff. He'll see the coach who has been his mentor and friend for more than 25 years. "He's probably my closest confidant in the coaching world; one guy I've always relied on," Smith said of Idaho head coach Dennis Erickson. For more on this story, please see Friday's edition of The State News.

MSU

Prof predicts cashless vending on campus

Fredricka Paul
August 31, 2006

Need a snack or drink but have no cash on hand? No worries. An MSU professor predicts vending machines that accept credit and debit cards will become more popular in coming years. Michael Kasavana, National Automatic Merchandising Association-endowed professor in hospitality business, does research with self-service technologies, including cashless vending machines. "By 2009, half of the six million vending machines will be capable of having cashless technology," Kasavana said.

NEWS

Incident sparks controversy about change to dorm identification policy

Justin Kroll
August 30, 2006

The controversy surrounding the new residence hall identification policy heated up after a dispute between an off-duty night receptionist and a visitor left the receptionist hospitalized early Sunday morning. The new policy, which was implemented last week, requires any guest — including MSU students who live in other dorms — entering residence halls between midnight and 7 a.m.

MSU

Freshmen 'get lost' on MSU's campus

Cash Kruth
August 30, 2006

Dazed and confused with maps in hand, lost freshmen are a common sight on campus at the start of the school year. On a 5,200-acre campus with 660 buildings, MSU can be a difficult place to navigate. "As long as I can see the stadium, I'm good," pre-nursing freshman, Katie Hughes said. Capital Area Transportation Authority, or CATA, bus drivers often are asked for directions around campus, but if students don't name the building or know which buses run during a certain time of day, the driver's guidance can be more confusing than helpful. "I was advised by a bus driver to take the #37 Sparty East to the Pavilion (for Agriculture and Livestock Education), but it never went there.

COMMENTARY

Guest ID policy doesn't fix problems

East Lansing is alive again with the hustle and bustle of MSU's student body. It's official — fall semester has begun. But before classes even started, an off-duty night receptionist was assaulted while trying to enforce the university's new, stricter dorm-visitation policy.

COMMENTARY

Contraceptive choices expand, should be available for everyone

Condoms don't discriminate. Available almost everywhere from Olin Health Center to Walgreens, condoms are sold to anyone willing to dish out a couple bucks in exchange for pretty good protection against unwanted pregnancies and most sexually transmitted infections. But think of all the sperm collected in that thin, latex contraption that could have otherwise fertilized an egg and developed into a real-life walking, talking human being. Still, condoms live on.

NEWS

Assault raises security concerns

Joey Nowak
August 30, 2006

Amber Nusbaum said her friend was just trying to protect her from a "big, scary guy." That act of chivalry landed the 19-year-old male junior in the hospital for three days with a grade-three concussion, which involves any loss of consciousness. The student, who said he still can't hear in his left ear, was released from Sparrow Hospital on Tuesday.

MSU

Innovations: Bird viruses

Fredricka Paul
August 30, 2006

Name: Richard Fulton, associate professor Department: Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health Location: Diagnostic Center, 4125 Beaumont Road in Lansing Type of research: Bird diseases Basics of the research: The "Asian Bird Flu" is a deadly form of avian influenza virus.

SPORTS

No longer starter, Vicari opts to go pro

Eric Fish
August 30, 2006

The Spartans hockey team lost goaltender Dominic Vicari prematurely Tuesday when he announced he will forgo his senior year of eligibility to pursue a professional hockey career. "I made the decision based on the matter I thought I was treated last year and not being able to play," Vicari said Tuesday. Vicari entered the 2005-06 season as the team's starting goaltender, but lost the job midway through the season to then-freshman Jeff Lerg. With Vicari temporarily sidelined in January because of an eye infection, Lerg got hot between the pipes and jump-started the Spartans to a CCHA Championship and a No.

NEWS

After the storm

He was born and raised in New Orleans. But the city is no longer home for Peter J. Badie III. "I don't see nothing in New Orleans that could bring me back," said Badie, who lost his Lower Ninth Ward home — the home his father built 51 years ago — in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina last August.

NEWS

Survey: Academic success hurt by outside influences

I was going to start this year's column with a rousing "Welcome Back," but then it hit me that in terms of freshmen, transfer and some graduate students, it is much more appropriate to say, "Welcome to your life here at MSU." The fact is, no matter what you might read on someone's facebook.com profile about MSU being about "booze, babes and sports," the overwhelming majority of students based their decision to attend this university on its academic reputation.

MICHIGAN

Trial date pushed back in playground fire case

The scheduled pretrial hearings of the two 17-year-olds charged with burning a Harrison Meadows Park playground structure has been delayed. Alex Charles Ellis and Jace Wickman, both of East Lansing, will appear in court on Oct.