Wednesday, January 7, 2026

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SPORTS

Team's future remains bright

MSU head coach Rick Comley still hasn't fully recovered from the emotional disappointment of last Sunday's heartbreaking 5-4 loss to Maine in the NCAA East Regional Finals. He's already watched the game tape twice. "We had so many chances to tie that game.

BASEBALL

Stealing bases becoming a crime for Spartans baseball

It's the top of the first inning of the MSU baseball team's game against Grand Valley State on Wednesday and sophomore rightfielder Tony Clausen is settling into the batter's box. Lakers pitcher Grant Payton steps on the mound, then glances over his shoulder at MSU junior shortstop Troy Krider, who's on first base after leading off the inning with a line-drive single to right. Krider leads a few feet off the base, leaning away from it like he's being pulled by an invisible magnet.

MICHIGAN

Belt safety up since 2000

By Caitlin Scuderi For The State News More people are wearing seat belts, cutting down on traffic fatalities in Michigan, state police reported. Since the safety belt law was passed in Michigan in 2000, traffic fatalities have decreased progressively, said Lynn Suftin of the Office of Highway and Safety Planning. "Over the past three years, safety belt use has increased dramatically," Suftin said.

COMMENTARY

All women's sports demeaned, trivialized

This letter is in response to Ethan Conley's continual vivacious attacks on athletes who are women in his past two columns, "Women's tournament needs the 'George Masons' for excitement" (SN 3/29) and "'Dunk' isn't reason to tune into w.

SPORTS

Tigers will miss playoffs; should strive for .500

The weather is warming up and spring is kicking into full gear, which means only one thing — the Detroit Tigers are about to kick off another regular season filled with optimism and doubt. Optimism because the team added high-caliber free agents for the third straight season.

FEATURES

Students put twist on classic

MSU students embrace classic Shakespearean comedy with just two twists — the newest play is set on an 18th century Southern plantation and the character commonly played by a man, Dogberry, is played by a woman. "Much Ado About Nothing," which opens this weekend, uses a bit of Southern charm to put audiences at ease with Shakespeare. Theater senior Katie Canavan plays Dogberry, the sheriff captain of the night watch.

COMMENTARY

Getting to know religion

Debating, discussing and being introduced to an array of different religions can benefit MSU's student body. A study was recently conducted, which involved more than 40,000 faculty at 421 higher education institutions and measured their college faculty members' level of spirituality and how it might integrate into their teaching methods. The stereotype that university faculty members are not spiritual was opposed through research results said Jennifer Lindholm, the project director and lead researcher on the study. The study found out that 81 percent of college faculty members in the nation consider themselves spiritual. Although religion should not be preached to students by any professor at a public university, religious discussion can lead to more open-minded and understanding students.

NEWS

Happenings

FILM Thursday - Sunday: "Brokeback Mountain," "The Producers" and "Memoirs of a Geisha" will be shown at Wells Hall and Conrad Auditorium at various times Friday through Sunday.

COMMENTARY

Column denounces Europe too quickly

In response to Beth Swanson's column, "Big culture gap exists between France, U.S." (SN 3/28), I must say I'm disappointed in yet another column full of anecdotes meant to reinforce stereotypes. A single week in tourist-packed Paris, presently in a state of unrest due to youth labor laws, is hardly a means to make a fair judgment between France and the United States. First of all, there is a huge difference between a college town and an international city — has anyone had random people (who are not a little scary) say "hi" to them in New York or Los Angeles? Secondly, after spending two months in France, I found the French far more warm and willing to talk than people in the United States.

MICHIGAN

Bill quells funeral protests

Protests around the country at the funerals of American soldiers have prompted a strong reaction from legislators at both the state and national level. A bill introduced Wednesday by U.S.

NEWS

Bridesmaids play gives insight about women

They're all wearing the same hideous dress to please a woman they barely know. In "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress" at Riverwalk Theatre, 228 Museum Drive in Lansing, five bridesmaids seek refuge from an ostentatious wedding.

NEWS

Summer beats

Thirty-two college students. Thirteen cars. An eight-and-a-half-hour drive to a farm in Tennessee. No, they weren't going to a farming convention, but to Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, an annual music celebration in Manchester, Tenn. Last summer senior Chris Pell and a friend organized a caravan of mostly MSU students to the festival site 60 miles southeast of Nashville, where they pitched tents and camped for the three-day event. Bonnaroo is just one of many popular summer music festivals, and it draws a diverse group of more than 75,000 people every year. "(There is) every age group you could possibly imagine.

COMMENTARY

Analyzing the statistics

Have things really gotten better? Taken at face value, the East Lansing crime statistics released Monday show that violent crimes are down, but citations for open alcohol violations are on the rise. Of course, those numbers can't be looked at in a vacuum, considering the laws that were changed over alcohol and tailgating on campus last year. According to the statistics, aggravated assaults decreased from 157 in 2004 to 34 in 2005, but open alcohol citations are at a 10-year high. The number of citations given out for underage possession of alcohol increased from 744 in 2004 to 1,141 in 2005. East Lansing police officers have also noticed more drinking in East Lansing as well as partying, but the number of serious crimes was the lowest it's been in a decade. We might be getting more drunk, but we're not as violent. The numbers on their own don't tell the whole picture of what it's like to live in East Lansing and the level of crime.