MSU officials said Friday they are in the process of reviewing what happened Saturday night and many expressed interest in continuing discussion. Several trustees and MSU President Lou Anna K.
A melee or disturbance is what the papers and press call the happenings of Saturday night in East Lansing.
After returning from St. Louis on Tuesday, I was disgusted by the accounts of Saturday night that I was bombarded with, but not even remotely surprised.
Five administrators from public universities across the country have been selected this week as final candidates for provost. Each candidate will tour campus, speak with students, faculty and administrators and host a public forum beginning next week. "We will see how they interact with people, because that's what it really comes down to," said Lynne Goldstein, chairwoman of the search committee and anthropology chairwoman and professor.
John Gray, a former volunteer firefighter for the Onondaga Fire Department from 1990 to 1999 was taken into custody Tuesday after detectives from the Ingham County Sheriff's Office witnessed him starting a fire on Walker Road, south of Bellevue Road. While Gray was working at the Onondaga Fire Department, the department responded to more than 90 grass fires that they categorized as suspicious, said Chief Gene Tidd.
For all of our youth and vibrancy, we are not invincible. By college, our immune systems have become fairly resistant and our bodies are able to bounce back from almost anything.
Now that East Lansing has officially termed the events of April 2-3 as a "riot," some students are questioning whether that night can be included in the same category as MSU's past disturbances.
For the last 13 weeks, Juan Lopez has been studying for a test that could change his life. The 26-year-old, originally from Mexico, is nearing the final days of MSU's High School Equivalency Program, or HEP, to earn a Graduate Education Degree, or GED.
Thankfully, and at the same time unfortunately, I was not there. However, I had five different people tell me the pigs (what you may call police) chose to use a type of "pre-emptive strike" on the students.
The MSU softball team will head back to Big Ten play today at Old College Field with two games against Ohio State (today and Saturday) and a doubleheader against Penn State on Sunday. MSU head coach Jacquie Joseph will be honored before Friday's game in recognition of her 500th career victory, which came in the 4-1 victory over Loyola-Chicago on Tuesday. The team is coming off a 4-3 loss at Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, in which MSU (11-19-1 overall, 2-2 Big Ten) committed four costly errors. Sophomore pitcher Rachel Turney had been solid on the mound for the Spartans, compiling a 7-10 record with a minuscule 1.74 ERA. The team has struggled to score runs this season with freshman Traci Nicosia leading the team with 10 RBIs. Game time for Friday is 4:05 p.m., Saturday's game is at 1 p.m.
I don't care to debate whether the police were right or wrong in their actions Saturday night, nor do I care to point blaming fingers at students or anyone else.
On Saturday night, the East Lansing Film Festival was hosting a reception for all of the filmmakers who attended the festival from all over the country in an art gallery at the corner of Abbott Road and Albert Avenue in downtown East Lansing.
About 100 people, including students and area officials, attended an open forum hosted by ASMSU and RHA on Thursday night to recall events of Saturday's disturbances. Many said they were angry with the way police responded to the events after the men's basketball team's loss to the University of North Carolina in the Final Four. At the student-geared forum, videos were shown of police shooting tear gas into a small group of two people.
To the Spartans women, Warrior poets with the hearts of lions and the giddiness of girls. Thespians in a simple drama unfolded to reveal all that is best about humanity and all that is best about sport.
When Chris Hill, Alan Anderson and Kelvin Torbert joined the Spartans as freshmen, the team lacked a solid senior class to show them the ropes. Now that the senior trio is leaving, Anderson said he made sure to leave behind their knowledge and experience. "We never had that," Anderson said.
"Dream big" was the motto of the MSU women's basketball team this year and after the season the Spartans had, they might just continue to have big dreams. The Spartans ended their season Tuesday with a disappointing loss to Baylor in the national championship game, but this team knows, regardless of what happened Tuesday night, the program benefited from its success. "This loss is going to hurt," senior guard Kristin Haynie said after the loss to Baylor.
MSU students joined others across the country Thursday to raise awareness of reported genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. The newly formed "Spartans Taking Action Now: Darfur," or STAND, played Twister and board games outside the Administration Building to attract attention to their cause. More than 160 college campuses across the nation also held events Thursday as part of mtvU's "STANDFast" campaign. The group sold green "Not On My Watch" wristbands and CDs to raise money for Darfur charities. Many students don't realize how powerful their voices can be, Josh Feinberg, international relations senior said. "There is strength in numbers," he said.
With reports of property damage from Saturday's disturbance still filing into East Lansing City Hall, a complete estimate of the weekend's events still is not available. Local business owners and landlords still are assessing damage that might have been inflicted on their properties, Mayor Mark Meadows said. "Oftentimes, reports come in a couple of weeks after something happened, like when a business owner notices a crack in a front window," Meadows said.
Having attended MSU from 1998-2004, I have witnessed my share of riots and celebrations firsthand. With the exception of the 1999 riot, all have been created or prevented by the oppressive cowboy antics of an overbearing police force.
All good things must come to an end, such as the old Izzone student section, the TV show "Newlyweds" with Nick and Jessica, the Detroit Tigers' undefeated season and yes, progs.