WEB ONLY: Folds takes show to E.L. before moving on to Vegas

It was audience participation night Tuesday in the Wharton Center's Great Hall. When piano rocker Ben Folds nodded, the crowd responded. When he needed voices to fill the chorus, they sang. When he paused to take a sip of water or empty his pockets (which held a wallet, papers and a cucumber), they called out requests. He responded to shouts for classics, such as "One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces" and "Eddie Walker." He knocked out a romantic rendition of George Michael's "Careless Whisper" when asked for it.

Med school document might be public today

Provost Lou Anna Simon said at an Executive Committee of Academic Council meeting Tuesday that a document regarding the future of the College of Human Medicine is scheduled to be made available today on the college's Web site. Supply chain management Professor Don Bowersox, the head of the university committee, could not be reached Tuesday evening to confirm this report. The document is planned to be a summary of university officials' discussions about the effects of a possible move or expansion of MSU's medical school to Grand Rapids. This announcement would come a little more than a week after community leaders announced an agreement to keep parts of the medical school in the Lansing area and one month before the MSU Board of Trustees votes on the future of the medical school at its May meeting. MSU spokesman Terry Denbow said he had not heard any indication that a final proposal was ready to be presented and could not say when the announcement would be available.

Council to discuss summer plans

With less than two months until the summer solstice and a slew of downtown fairs and festivals in the works, the East Lansing City Council has begun gearing up for warmer weather. City staff and local business owners are seeking approvals for summertime requests from increased outdoor restaurant seating to outdoor concert events at tonight's council meeting, to be held at 7:30 p.m.

Spartans prepared to extend winning trend

With the Spartans riding a nine-game winning streak, Travis Gulick's play probably has gone unnoticed by most. On Tuesday, however, the Big Ten recognized the junior right fielder's achievements by giving him co-Big Ten Player of the Week honors. "It was really a surprise to me," Gulick said.

State leaders plan visit to Middle East

Some Michigan lawmakers are taking an opportunity to visit the Middle East over the Legislature's two-week spring recess. Twenty-one state House members will be meeting with governmental and business leaders in Qatar and Dubai to try and expand understanding and economic relations between Michigan and the Middle East. The trip was funded by the American Arab Chamber of Commerce, and Chairman Ahmad Chebbani said the trip is the first of a series of trips to the area. "The idea came up that a delegation effort should be launched from the U.S.

MIDDAY UPDATE: Judge denies student chance to live at home during trial

MSU student Denita Dorsey was denied the chance to live with her mother through the duration of her court trial, despite efforts made by her attorney today.Dorsey, a 22-year-old communication senior, was charged in March with four counts of fraud and identity theft, three counts of forging checks and one count of larceny.

Becoming a spartan

Andrés Quintanilla Bellucci placed one hand over his new green MSU hat to keep it from blowing away as he used the other to focus his digital camera on Beaumont Tower. After visiting the notable landmark, Andrés, 19, and his father walked with a group of more than 70 prospective students and their families to the next destination on the routine admissions tour Tuesday. But routine tours usually don't include the son of the vice president of El Salvador. Carlos Quintanilla Schmidt, who has been vice president of the Massachusetts-sized country for five years, brought his son to take one last look at MSU's campus before he commits to attend in the fall. "It seems to be a very big campus, but you can find everything," Vice President Quintanilla said.

Scientists refine apple-quality tests

Don't judge an apple by its cover - shiny red skin and a plump appearance might just be masking a squishy texture or sour taste. Renfu Lu, an adjunct associate professor at MSU and agricultural engineer with the U.S.

Disability a complex issue to understand

Kudos to Rebecca Richendollar "Handicap stickers denote disabilities" (SN 4/1) on recognizing the diverse face of disability.

Classes create another stakes game when dealer holds Scantrons in deck

I am a compulsive gambler, perhaps even a gambling junkie. But I don't know how to shoot craps.

Cooley Law School to sue bar association over school's approval process

Lansing - The Thomas M. Cooley Law School is suing the American Bar Association to end what school administrators are calling a lengthy approval process for its new satellite campuses, Don LeDuc, president and dean of the school, said. The Cooley Law School is stating that the association instructed the school to follow one set of rules governing new satellite campuses during their approval process and then "switched" the interpretations of those standards during review. In September 2002, Cooley opened the first of two new campuses in conjunction with Oakland University, and then with Western Michigan University in May 2003. The schools have been waiting to receive approval by the ABA for more than a year.

Forum to focus on Haitian ex-president

The Night of Solidarity with the People of Haiti is holding a forum Thursday in Detroit about the United States' involvement with exiled Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The forum begins at 6 p.m.

Police briefs 04/07/04

MIDDAY UPDATE: 'U' president, area leaders agree on med school expansion

MSU President M. Peter McPherson and area community leaders have struck a balance on discussions of the future of MSU's College of Human Medicine.The coalition announced Wednesday that it has reached agreements its says would benefit mid-Michigan health care.

CATA extends weekend hours of Northern Tier bus route

Students living in apartments a few miles north of campus and in downtown East Lansing have another option when the question arises of how they'll get home after 10 p.m. Capital Area Transportation Authority, or CATA, has recently extended its hours of operation on Route 26, which services Abbott to Chandler roads, and is home to numerous businesses and apartment complexes. The route now runs on 35-minute intervals until 2:30 a.m.

Hometown feel

East Lansing's application for a grant from Gov. Jennifer Granholm's Cool Cities initiative should be used to add unique flavor to the downtown area. The city, along with more than 100 other cities, recently applied to receive $100,000 from the initiative in order to jump-start projects to revamp the city.

'U' systems possibly infected with virus

University computers might be infected with a program that can track personal information entered into machines. Merit, the university's Internet provider, notified Academic Computing and Network Services on Tuesday that about 15 computers are thought to be infected with a keystroke logger.

Fair-labor activists upset by meeting

A student group supporting fair labor is upset with the university after MSU President M. Peter McPherson met with the executive director of a labor-monitoring organization without notifying them. Members of Students for Economic Justice, or SEJ, said they have been campaigning for four years to get McPherson to consider joining the Worker Rights Consortium and were disappointed to find out that the meeting took place earlier last month without their input or presence. "That's unprofessional," said economics senior Dave Mitchell, a member of SEJ.

Numbers game

We're No. 1! We're No. 1! And also No. 13, 15, 18, 29, 56 and "fourth tier." When U.S.

Club to host conference tourney

For Jennifer Scully, April 16 cannot come any sooner. To the four-year starter and president of the MSU women's water polo team, it's the date she's been waiting for since she came to MSU four years ago.