Take action
Affirmative action has always been controversial, with many advocates on both sides. And next fall, with the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative on the ballot, the issue is once again brought to the forefront. If passed, the initiative would make it unconstitutional to have hiring or university admissions preferences based on gender or race — effectively ending the practice of race-based affirmative action in Michigan. When it comes down to it, this will affect college enrollment and hiring in the state.
MIDDAY UPDATE: ASMSU assemblies, RHA to hold first-ever joint meeting
The Residence Halls Association and both assemblies of ASMSU will meet together for the first time Thursday to discuss issues such as the independent commission reviewing the April 2-3 disturbances, water quality and campus recycling. Members of RHA and ASMSU, MSU's undergraduate student government, will hold a joint meeting at 7 p.m.
Armchair commentators recap Spartans' victory against Boston College, 77-70
State News basketball reporters Matt Bishop and Tom Keller couldn't make it out to New York for Tuesday night's game against Boston College.
Exams bring out college anxiety; experiences go beyond academics
What am I doing here? I don't know if it's the lack of sleep, pressure of exams or coffee.
Five favorites
The State News presents five things going on in the world of pop culture that might make your life a little bit better. 1.
Senior awarded fellowship for kidney research
A microbiology and molecular genetics senior recently received a fellowship to continue her current research on kidney defects. Jennifer Edwards was awarded a 2005 Undergraduate Research Fellows Outstanding Local Students fellowship from the American Physiological Society. The 10-week fellowship will allow her to continue working in a lab and pay travel expenses to an experimental biology conference in San Francisco in April, where she will present her work — the relationship between kidneys and blood pressure. She has always known that she wants to go into medicine and do research, so she said this has been a good opportunity for her. "It's got to be something you have a true interest in and true passion for," Edwards said.
Writer intolerant of diversity, isolated
Regardless of Mr. Ryan Townsend's claim in "Only two genders, demands are bogus" (SN 12/2), that he holds no hatred or contempt for the transgender community in his response to "Identity right" (SN 11/16), his comments would suggest otherwise, or at the very least, ignorance and intolerance. His belief that "God created two genders: male and female" and that "There are no genders outside of these and there are no gray areas in between" is yet another example of how some people use religion to create divides between themselves and people who are different.
Chinese Happy brings punk rock sound to Temple tonight
Chinese Happy has been playing shows consistently for about two years and has members living in Detroit and Lansing, which helps both the band's dedication and fan base.
Council receives report on April 2-3
During its Tuesday meeting, the East Lansing City Council officially received a copy of the report created by the independent commission investigating the April 2-3 disturbances.
Winner of Spike TV reality show returns to MSU as assistant coach
You might have seen him on The Ultimate Fighter 2 reality show on Spike TV. In Vegas, he's a celebrity. But here at MSU, Rashad Evans is just a normal guy and a new volunteer assistant coach for the men's wrestling team.
Icers' injured list keeps on growing
MSU head coach Rick Comley has watched his injury-stricken team go from 5-1-1 through seven games to its current 6-7-4 record.
MSU prof tackles stress
An MSU professor has been granted $1.8 million to spend researching stress stemming from work and family. One of Professor Ellen Kossek's projects looks into these stresses, and another focuses on flexibility policies for unionized employees. "What happens with grants is you don't expect two pretty big ones, because it's so hard to get one," said Kossek, a labor and industrial relations professor. Kossek works with Leslie Hammer, a psychology professor at Portland State University in Oregon, on a $1.4-million project to research how stress from balancing home life and work affects people. Oregon Health & Science University is also involved in the study. The two professors, who previously worked together at national conferences, are using their specializations to uncover relationships between work-family stress, safety and health. The project is based out of PSU's Center for Work-Family Stress, Safety and Health, but some of the research is being done at MSU. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is funding the three-year project. Work-family stress or conflicts occur when the strain of one role affects the other, Kossek said.
Student remembers conflict
Azra Kapetanovic remembers people constantly running from place to place in Prijedor, Bosnia, during the early 1990s. When the Bosnian conflict began in 1992, she said members of her community were living day-to-day, just trying to survive. "There were days when 100 people would be sleeping in one house, not even sleeping, just sitting and waiting for the night to be over," the 24-year-old electrical engineering senior said of her memories from the conflict in the country now known as Bosnia-Herzegovina. Kapetanovic, who will graduate from MSU on Saturday, left her hometown with her family in December 1994 and arrived in the United States in April 1995. She said she enjoys MSU because she is seeing things from a different perspective. "In Bosnia, there's the same culture," Kapetanovic said.
Writer's statements are ignorant, wrong
Ryan Townsend's letter, "Only two genders, demands are bogus" (SN 12/2) regarding gender identity and Y chromosomes shows that he is ignorant of both the social construction of gender and the biological reality of sex differentiation. First of all, "gender" is a societally determined set of physical and behavioral characteristics.
SN style: Getting classy for the holidays
The holiday season is upon us, and regardless of the occasion, a celebration is always in order. From here to New Year's, chances are there's at least one gala, bash or some no-holds-barred party that requires some finer touches.
Making music together
Writing and performing original songs for a class grade might be normal for a music major, but others interested in music could only dream about having that option — until recently. Music Professor John Kratus wanted to give MSU students who weren't music majors an opportunity to take a music class and got his chance when the Integrative Studies Department was asking for ideas for new courses.
Mariucci last person needed for Spartans
I am disgusted by all of the suggestions that ousted Lions coach Steve Mariucci would somehow be the answer to our football woes. One of the reasons Mariucci got fired from his NFL job was his inability to develop young talent.
For once, BCS picks are A-OK
Way to go, BCS. You finally got it right. The four major bowls have teams where they belong, and this year there is only one team that has a reason to complain about anything. Sorry Oregon, but an Ohio State-Notre Dame matchup in the Fiesta Bowl is a lot more intriguing than you against either one of those teams.
MIDDAY UPDATE: E.L. City Council to receive final report from disturbance commission
The East Lansing City Council is scheduled to receive a copy of the report created by the independent commission investigating the April 2-3 disturbances during their Tuesday meeting.