Silenced students

Sometimes silence can say a lot. The national Day of Silence was celebrated on Wednesday across the country.

Nazi rally costs add up

The April 22 neo-Nazi rally cost the Michigan State Police and Lansing police a total of $258,390.55, most of which was related to overtime expenses for police officers. In addition, the city-sponsored diversity rally cost about $13,000 to hold, said Randy Hannan, deputy chief of staff for Mayor Virg Bernero. About $5,000 of that money will be paid for through private fundraising, with the rest paid by the city of Lansing, Hannan said. "It was worth every penny," Hannan said.

Simon heads to Kuwait City for 36th annual conference

MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon will visit the Middle East this weekend to be the keynote speaker at a health conference in Kuwait City, Kuwait. The Penner Blood Coagulation Conference on Sunday is a collaboration between the MSU's Division of Thrombosis and the Medicine Health Sciences Center at Kuwait University. The topic of the conference, in its 36th year, is "Clotting and Fibrinolysis: Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease in Women and Men." According to the conference's Web site, the event is a chance for physicians and scientists from across the globe to meet and share their experiences with blood disorders. Simon will speak about the role of education and today's global challenges, university spokesman Terry Denbow said.

WEB EXTRA: Mich. residents to march for American dream

Citizens from across the state of Michigan will meet at the Capitol building at 2 p.m. on Saturday to march for the American dream. "The rally is to impress upon our elected officials to stop the outsourcing of American jobs, the need for universal health care, a secure life for our senior citizens and a better future for our children and grandchildren," said organizer Art Reyes, of Flint.

Spartans look to defend Big Ten title

By Brittany Ghiroli For The State News Going into the women's Big Ten Rowing Championships this weekend, spirits couldn't be higher for the No.

Former 'Felicity' star hits big screen

Keri Russell and her famous long, curly hair are probably best known for playing a coed on the WB drama, "Felicity." Now, refreshed and raring to go, Russell will be on the big screen opposite Tom Cruise in "Mission: Impossible III" next month. In a phone interview with The State News and other media, Russell commented on learning how to assemble a machine gun blindfolded in 13 seconds and jumping off buildings with Cruise.

Backyard fires may be allowed by summer

Here's a recipe for a backyard get-together on a summer evening in East Lansing: A handful of friends lounging in lawn chairs, burgers starting to brown on the grill, droplets of water condensing on a bottle of cold beer and — a fire? MSU students have crossed East Lansing police in the past for lighting things on fire in residential areas, but if City Council approves an amendment to the fire code, some student renters would be within their rights to start fires in their yards. Council could approve the revised law next week. That doesn't mean burning couches or bonfires — permitted fires would have to burn in an outdoor fireplace. In the past, residents of the city's neighborhoods could have fires on their properties if they first obtained a permit from the East Lansing Fire Department.

WEB EXTRA: 3 Michigan cities to offer Chinese-immersion preschool programs

Nicole Ellefson's wristwatch alarm goes off at 7 p.m. everyday — sometimes she forgets that she set it in the first place. "I always tell my daughters that it's seven in the morning in Beijing," Ellefson laughs. Beginning next fall, both East and West will overlap in the same classroom. A Chinese Immersion Program for Lansing, East Lansing and Bay City schools will be established for preschool-aged children.

SN coverage overly sympathetic to Nazi cause; harms community

Lansing Coalition Against Nazis, or LCAN, was disgusted at The State News' front page profile of the National Socialist Movement entitled "The mind of the modern Nazi" (SN 4/20). The article and the accompanying photograph were completely sympathetic to the National Socialist Movements', or NSM, message of white supremacy, hate, intimidation and violence. We recognize The State News is interested in publishing thought-provoking, relevant, unbiased articles, but "The mind of a modern Nazi" was none of these.

Students: No more smoking in dorms

A majority of students who live on campus said that they would support a complete ban on smoking in the residence halls, a University Housing survey shows. The results of the survey conducted in mid-April showed that nearly 62 percent of students in residence halls would support the smoking ban.

No ordinary girl: Freshman aspires to become boxer

By Yvette Lanier For The State News He was getting on her nerves. No, for that matter, she said he got on everyone's nerves in class.

Police briefs 04/28/06

Wake up to the truth about sleep

Lefiola Papa doesn't mind sacrificing a night of sleep to catch up on course work and study for exams. The psychology freshman said she doesn't think she needs very much sleep to function, and even prefers to study at night because there are fewer distractions. "I feel like sleep is such a waste of time sometimes," Papa said.

WEB EXTRA: ASMSU officials fail to reach quorum again, meeting delayed

The combination of a poorly-attended ASMSU Student Assembly meeting as well as a copy machine problem delayed Thursday's meeting by one hour.

WEB EXTRA: Support group holds brain injury education program

Four days before the start of her freshman year, human biology junior Sarah Schrauben flipped her car seven times, broke her neck and pelvis and suffered a severe brain injury. In recovery, Schrauben was taught how to formulate sentences and she had to re-learn other basic tasks most people do without thinking.

WEB EXTRA: MSU student devotes time to hurricane cleanup

When you follow Aaron Preston's big brown eyes in conversation, whether it's about his trips to Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Mississippi or his upbringing on a farm in Quincy, Mich., you notice they twinkle. Then you notice that the environmental and economic policy junior talks with his hands, moving them up and down, from side to side, rhythmically, to articulate his points.

Press 'start,' learn

Remember those educational computer games you played in elementary school? Maybe you used "Mario Teaches Typing" to learn how to speed through school work and type faster. Even if you occasionally lost the game, chances are you enjoyed the process more than taking a regular class. With the theory that we can learn a lot through games, MSU and China Central Radio and Television University in Beijing is creating an online video game environment to teach students Chinese language and culture. It's all part of MSU's partnership with the Chinese government to create the MSU Confucius Institute, which will teach MSU students Mandarin Chinese online. Because of China's growing population and expanding global role, it's becoming important for students to learn Chinese. Students in China are undoubtedly learning English, and we need to keep up with languages that more people will be speaking. And for generations of students who have grown up with computers and are proficient with the Internet, integrating learning a language and playing computer games could help students struggling to grasp the language. The game allows students to navigate through Chinese culture, learning to interact with others who speak the language. If it allows students to learn at their own pace and level, it could help people who aren't grasping the material in traditional settings. It has to hold their attention and make trying to speak a different language seem fun. Although the game seems like it could be an interesting way to learn a new language, it shouldn't completely erase traditional forms of learning languages. Half the fun of learning a new language is getting to interact face-to-face with other people and speak to them, all while learning about the culture. A game shouldn't replace speaking with actual people, and to be effective, the game should be coupled with actual teaching. But for those who reveled in educational games like "Oregon Trail" as a child, this could be a big hit. Play on.

'Furnaces' quirky, difficult

By Erik Adams For The State News Words that describe The Fiery Furnaces: Innovative.

WEB EXTRA: MSU hockey's incoming class

MSU head coach Rick Comley has added four players who are expected to fill the voids left by graduating seniors Jared Nightingale, Corey Potter, David Booth, Colton Fretter and Chad Hontvet as well as compliment the returning athletes of the program. Here's a look at the incoming Spartans set to debut this fall: Forward Matt Schepke: At 5-foot-9 and 196 pounds, Schepke scored 37 goals and 56 points with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL in 2005-06.

Innovations: Measuring moods

Name: Assistant Professor Laura Symonds Department: Psychiatry and radiology Title of research project: The Effect of Mood on Pain Perception Date of research: Symonds has been working on this project, which looks at depression and chronic pain, for the past five years, and it is continuing to evolve into new studies. Basics of the project: Symonds is looking at why people who have depression are at risk for developing chronic pain and why people who have chronic pain are at risk for developing depression. The study involves inducing moods and pain stimuli in people and watching how their brains react using a magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, machine. Her research team has found that when a sad mood is induced, chronic pain feels more intense than when a happy mood is induced, even if the stimulation is set at the same intensity. "The brain is telling them it hurts more, and what we are trying to figure out is how does the brain do that," Symonds said. As the subject reacts to the pain, the researchers watch how the brain modifies it, Symonds added. "One thing it's leading us toward is a real interest in how people can consciously change how a sensation feels," she said. Social impact of research: The goal of the project is to help people at risk for chronic pain disorder or depression, Symonds said. She also hopes to decrease that risk as a result of her research by understanding how the disorders are connected. "Hopefully we will be able to give people ideas on how to modify pain and depression," she said. Grants and funding: The cost of the project is about $100,000 per year.