Accident stalls Grand River Avenue traffic

A multiple vehicle accident temporarily slowed Grand River Avenue traffic at Division Street around 3 p.m.

Multicultural center, activism dominate minority student talk

The creation of a free-standing multicultural center and student activism dominated discussion Wednesday when members of the MSU community met in the Union Ballroom.Students from the Coalition of Racial Ethnic Students have been lobbying for a new building because traffic in its temporary facility in the Union basement has more than doubled since it opened in 1999.

Bush needs to take own 'affirmative action' into account

Leave it to the Wolverines to make a mess of everything. After three years at MSU, my long-standing antipathy toward the University of Michigan has hardly diminished.

Decision needs to be overturned

If a person killed a 10-year-old boy or a 10-month-old girl, that person would be considered a criminal and sentenced to jail.

'U' research funding might be slashed

An MSU pesticide research program could lose $210,000 if Gov. Jennifer Granholm follows budget cut recommendations from a Midland-based think tank.According to a report by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research group, Michigan can save $34 million by eliminating programs in the state's Department of Agriculture.But Chris DiFonzo, MSU's pesticide education program coordinator, said a cut wouldn't have a big affect on the university.The Department of Agriculture gets federal funding to run the pesticide certification program, and MSU is contracted to make educational material for people who use the chemicals.

Trustee's bowl rings go unsold

Angelo DiMeo is wondering what to do next with Trustee Joel Ferguson's old MSU bowl rings.The Lansing-based jeweler put Ferguson's 1990 John Hancock and 1993 Liberty bowl rings up for auction on eBay, but did not draw any bids.DiMeo was asking $1,400 for each ring in the Internet auctions, which ended Wednesday night."Most people are afraid of the media attention," DiMeo said, adding 200 potential buyers courted him about side deals - with $1,200 as the highest offer per ring.Ferguson declined to comment the night of the auctions' close, but said last week he didn't know how DiMeo got ahold of the rings.He said he may have given them away and didn't think they were stolen.About eight people visit DiMeo's two jewelry stores each day to look at the rings, DiMeo said.

'U' to replace Blackboard online program

A new course management program will soon replace Blackboard.The new program, ANGEL, or A New Global Environment for Learning, is similar in appearance and will provide many of the same services as the 4.0 version of Blackboard, which MSU uses.ANGEL will replace Blackboard during the next 18 months, and the program should be installed and tested this summer and in use next fall.

No optimism in search for flier culprit

It's doubtful those responsible for posting a flier containing racially and sexually offensive messages will be caught, Shaw Hall Black Caucus Vice President Corey McBride acknowledged Wednesday. Written in German and English, the flier found in Shaw Hall advertises a "night of orgasmic sex with a heathen," sponsored by the "MSU White Caucus." A mentor found the message while conducting rounds Jan.

Lecture to discuss bioethics

MSU's Department of Political Science will host their 14th annual lecture series, "Biotechnology and Modern Democracy" beginning at 8 tonight in the Kellogg Center Auditorium.

Freshmen swimmers make a splash on team

Though swift and graceful in the pool, the sidewalk is a different story for freshmen Ian Clutten and Rudolf Wagenaar.Clutten and Wagenaar are from Capetown, South Africa, and aren't as excited with the weather at MSU as they are about everything else."The climate change has been tough," Wagenaar said.

Students lead commission to review city noise policies

Student leaders are recommending several initiatives to expand prevention and enforcement activities to the city in hopes of reducing noise violations.At East Lansing's University Student Commission meeting members discussed making changes to East Lansing City Council's noise reduction recommendations Tuesday for residents before a policy is implemented.

Police briefs 01/23/03

Activist groups gather to mourn, remember life since Roe v. Wade

The 30th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision drew crowds of advocates Wednesday eager to state their cases for the future of abortion. Students and government officials united in song and prayer for an end to abortion during an afternoon gathering on the state Capitol's steps.

McPherson condemns racist flier

MSU President M. Peter McPherson on Tuesday characterized a hateful flier posted in Shaw Hall as "reprehensible, cruel and degrading."A hall complex director filed a police report this week after an insensitive flier was found posted on the dorm's walls.

United Way loses 1.8M in stolen funds

Officials from the Capital Area United Way announced at their Tuesday meeting $1.8 million was embezzled after the completion of an internal investigation. Jacquelyn Allen-MacGregor, the chapter's former finance chief, is thought to have used 375 checks during the past seven years to embezzle the money from the umbrella charity, spokesman David Holoweiko said. "It's been pretty sickening," he said.

Anti-war action

America is beginning to awaken from the slumber of taking political matters too lightly. Freezing temperatures did not stop nearly 1,000 protesters from gathering in front of Michigan's Capitol on Saturday for the Greater Lansing Network against War in Iraq's "Solidarity Walk." It also didn't stop the tens-of-thousands sized-crowd from an anti-war rally and march in Washington, D.C. Many protesters made signs such as "Drop Bush, Not Bombs" and "Weapons of Mass Destruction, Who Used Them First?" to show their outrage against the conflict with Iraq.

Utilizing free speech doesn't equal a lack of patriotism

Hell yeah, America. Let's talk about patriotism. Let's talk about love and loyal or zealous support for one's country - in our case, the good old U.S.

Police briefs 01/22/03

Regional Chamber of Commerce to host speaker from Big Ten

Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany will be speaking about commercialism in intercollegiate athletics at 1:30 p.m.

Letter ignores world around us

In response to Dan McDonald's letter ("United States has problems of its own," SN 1/16), I would like to make a few points. As an American, I would ask McDonald to not assume things about people outside of his circle of war protesters.