Northern nemesis

Marquette - It was a struggle all weekend for the MSU hockey team as the Spartans limped through a sweep at the hands of Northern Michigan.

Spikers finally record win

The MSU volleyball team was swept by Wisconsin on Friday before turning around Saturday and defeating Northwestern in three of four games. "We bent, but we didn't break," head coach Chuck Erbe said, referring to the fourth game on Saturday and the final game of the weekend.

MIDDAY UPDATE: On-air comments about sexual assaults spur discussion

Comments made on a local radio station morning show about the recent sexual assault cases on campus brought to light issues on how sexual assaults are viewed in the public. The radio station, WVIC (94.1-FM) in Lansing, aired comments made by two part-time substitute morning hosts regarding the sexual assault situation on MSU's campus.

Event examines Latino identity

Criticism about the rate of Chicano and Latino assimilation was one of the main focuses of a regional Chicano conference held at the Union this weekend. The event was held by the Midwest FOCO chapter of the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies.

Drop the act

If a manufactured pop star's career takes a nose-dive in the middle of the forest, will anyone hear it, or much less care? It was a shame to watch Saturday Night Live this weekend and see someone who proclaims to be a singer miming on a live show.

Lawyers called for backup in case of recount

With the presidential election eight days away, campaign representatives are preparing for a possible recount after the 2000 debacle that kept Americans guessing the winner for weeks. Although officials say they aren't planning on another recount, they already are calling on thousands of lawyers to help out in possible courtroom battles. Nationwide polls show a dead heat in many of the battleground states, including Florida, Michigan and Ohio.

Dogs invade woods during night walk

Okemos - About six times a year, the nature center's senior park naturalist, Kit Rich, leads the evening tour through the woods.

Play about abortion easy to understand, objective

The play "Keely & Du" can be applied to so many award-winning categories, it's almost difficult to pinpoint which area is the best.

Smith accepts invitation to speak at fraternity

Between practice sessions on Sunday, head football coach John L. Smith discussed his leadership philosophy and the current state of the team with students and alumni at the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity house. Since taking the helm of a wavering Spartans program in 2003, he said his biggest challenge has been altering the players' dispositions. "We're in the process of changing attitudes by changing expectations that we have for our guys," Smith said, adding that the "no class, no play" standard has been new concept for some players. "We are a very blue-collar program," he said.

'U' hockey team falls to Northern

Marquette - It was another tough Friday night game for the MSU hockey team (1-2-0) as they were once again unable to overcome a tough goaltender in the final minutes. The Spartans fell to the Northern Michigan Wildcats (2-1-0), 3-2, in front of a near-sellout crowd of 3,814 at the Berry Events Center.

Gen. Izzo leads troops for new year

So I'm sitting through my first MSU basketball practice and I'm surprised by what I see. Guys are hitting the floor hard every two seconds.

Flu vaccines reserved for Congress despite shortages

National lawmakers are being encouraged to get flu shots despite vaccine shortages, but the recommendation hasn't been extended to state government officials. Capitol physician Dr. John Eisold recommended the 535 Congressional members be vaccinated because they frequently come into contact with children and older people, and could spread, as well as catch, the flu. Rep.

Police briefs 10/22/04

Tennis team travels to Ann Arbor for tourney

The MSU men's tennis team heads to Ann Arbor for the Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Midwest Men's Regional Championship Thursday through Tuesday. Freshmen Brian Compton and Adam Monich will play Friday in the qualifying rounds.

Rental housing ban expired, owners able to rent homes

The city is once again fair game for developers and homeowners looking to rent their properties, after a city-wide moratorium banning new rental housing expired Tuesday at midnight. Plans to renew the ban are not in the works, city officials said. "It was in place several months longer than it ideally should have been," said Vic Loomis, a member of the East Lansing City Council. Although the moratorium has been lifted, it continues in neighborhoods that submitted petitions to create "overlay districts" under an ordinance passed in April whereby new rental properties could not be added. To create a district, neighborhoods need a two-thirds majority of signatures from homeowners included in the area.

RHA donation to provide free Night Owl bus rides

Students now will have a free ride at night to get anywhere on campus. The Residence Halls Association is funding the Capital Area Transportation Authority's Night Owl service in an effort to keep students from walking alone at night. The service picks up and drops off students anywhere on campus between 2 a.m.-7 a.m.

Big Ten title up in the air as field hockey team takes on Indiana, undefeated Iowa

Losing at Michigan last Saturday "sucked" according to senior forward Veerle Goudswaard. After the 1-0 overtime loss for the No.

Researchers decode first tree genome

Last year, the complete network of DNA in humans was decoded. Just last month, that same genetic sequence - also known as a genome - was revealed for the first time in a species of tree. The Black Cottonwood tree, commonly known as the poplar, was selected as a model species for the project partly due to its relatively small genome size, forestry Associate Professor Kyung-Hwan Han said. Understanding the genome information for the poplar tree will help tree biologists learn more about its growth cycles, Han said. He said he participated in the project as part of the International Populus Genome Consortium, a group of international scientists and researchers that work to map out genetic codes. The majority of the work in sequencing the DNA was done by the U.S.

'U' to build off victory; hosts Michigan today

The MSU women's soccer team will try to build off its win at Oakland on Sunday when the Spartans host Michigan at 3 p.m.

FBI: Major crimes in Mich. ebb

Major violent crimes were down across the state in all areas except motor vehicle thefts and rape, according to a study compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigations. East Lansing follows many of the trends, police said. The 2003 Michigan Uniform Crime Report was released Thursday, and it stated the biggest drop was in murders, down 9 percent, and robbery, down 5 percent. "The information is reported throughout the country," said Dan Batchelor, acting supervisory agent for the Lansing resident agency of the FBI. In Michigan, total crime was down 2.35 percent between 2002 and 2003.