Spartan Soul dancers shook their bodies in rhythm to the fast beat of the music.As the music slowed, they raised their hands to the sky and Martin Luther King Jr.’s booming voice overtook the music.
Amid a contract dispute between the Graduate Employees Union and MSU, the union decided to seek arbitration after a grievance filed last month was rejected by the university.The union formally announced its decision at Friday’s Board of Trustees meeting.“MSU administrators should abide by the contract they signed,” union President Scott Henkel said in his speech to the board.“While we hope that this matter will be resolved soon, it would be irresponsible for us to allow the administration to violate our contract without being held accountable for those violations,” Henkel said.After the union files for arbitration, an agreed upon third-party person will hear both sides and settle the contract dispute.The contract states that teaching assistants with at least four semesters of experience will be promoted to the third level of pay in a three-tier system, which is $700 more per year.
What was worse during Saturday’s football game: The offense or ESPN showing football head coach Bobby Williams pouting and whining nearly to the point of tears after every play?
Fire football head coach Bobby Williams. Now. The Spartans went into Iowa City, Iowa, and gave up 44 unanswered points Saturday. We have gone from being a dark-horse Bowl Championship Series contender to being a laughingstock of the NCAA in seven weeks. Assuming we can even muster four more wins - which is a long shot - how much will MSU pay this year to get into a bowl game that no one cares about? The Spartans - who have the best receiver in the nation as their offensive leader - went up against a team with the second worst pass defense and second best run defense in the country and spent the entire first half trying to establish a running game. By the time the coaching staff got wise to the fact they needed to throw the ball, the game’s outcome already was known. I have been an outspoken crusader for Williams’ firing.
Investigators searching for the serial sniper in the Washington, D.C., area are defending their limited release of information about the case, and they are completely justified.
Tara talked me into it. Sure, I was a Cher fan, but to actually dress up like her? It wasn’t something I had thought about until we saw the advertisement for a Cher look-alike contest at Club Paradise, 224 S.
Gas prices increased by nearly 10 cents last week, according to AAA Michigan, which surveys 300 gas stations weekly. Linda Casey, senior communications specialist for Ashland Petroleum, attributes the increased prices to Hurricanes Lili and Isidore. Casey said 25 percent, or 42 million, barrels of crude oil have to be transported into the Midwest from the Gulf region by barge or pipeline.
Another major U.S. newspaper joined the list of publications that are announcing same-sex partner commitments and therefore bringing important issues out for social discussion.
I am writing to stand up for someone that everyone will be slandering in the next week or so. That person is football head coach Bobby Williams.
Omaha, Neb. - In the wee hours of Saturday morning, head coach Rick Comley watched the replay of MSU’s humbling 5-0 loss to Denver with a tally sheet in his hand.He was counting the number of turnovers his seventh-ranked hockey team made against the Pioneers in the first round of the season-opening Maverick Stampede on Friday.Comley’s final calculation: 110 MSU giveaways, including 50 by the defensemen, in 60 minutes of hockey.
Weather in the mid-40s and continuous wind gusts didn’t keep the MSU baseball team off the diamond Sunday afternoon.The Spartans were divided into two teams, creating the Green/Gray World Series.
Iowa City, Iowa - Under rolling gray skies, the Spartans couldn’t weather the Iowa storm on a dreary Saturday in Hawkeye country. Five turnovers coupled with MSU’s worst offensive performance - 249 total yards - the Spartans (3-3 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) extended their losing streak at Kinnick Stadium to 14 years with a 44-16 loss to a talented Iowa squad (6-1, 3-0). “It’s really very, very hard to play over the number of turnovers we had and give up big plays like we did,” MSU head coach Bobby Williams said. And unless the Spartans begin to execute like the team expected to come out of the preseason, the forecast for the rest of the season is dismal, as MSU still has to play top-ranked programs Michigan and Penn State. “Obviously, they have an up field battle,” ESPN analyst Bob Davie said.
Cher wasn’t planning on leaving quietly.Lowered from the ceiling of Breslin Center for her “Living Proof: The Farewell Tour” on a chandelier singing U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” the singer wanted to make sure her arrival would keep people talking.
As an MSU student and a big football fan, I am tired of our football team’s success always pending on whether we beat the University of Michigan. When preseason rankings came out in August, all of us Spartan faithful saw our team picked to be in the Big Ten race and a possible dark horse for the National Championship.
Lansing - The lawn of the Capitol was packed with 3,600 pink and white shirts Saturday in support of Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, a walkathon sponsored by the American Cancer Society.The fourth annual walk brought women and men together to raise $205,000 for breast cancer research and services.
Omaha, Neb. - Amid the cheering for the victorious Denver Pioneers, one could almost hear the sigh of relief from MSU fans at the Omaha Civic Auditorium this weekend. Very rarely do Spartan fans take any solace from a one win, one loss weekend.
MSU’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved a request for about $1,000 more per student in state appropriations for the 2003-04 school year Friday, but at least one state official says that dream for more funding might not become a reality. State Sen.
A five-member cast will play to all four sides of the Auditorium’s Arena Theatre stage when “Three in the Back, Two in the Head” opens tomorrow night. The title of Canadian playwright Jason Sherman’s 80-minute one-act play refers to bullet holes in the body of the main character’s father. Theater senior Kelly Cavanagh plays Paula Jackson, a young woman looking for the truth behind her father’s murder. With a minimalist set and few props, the audience is forced to focus full attention on character development.
Iowa City, Iowa - Saturday’s 44-16 beating at the hands of Iowa provided more than just embarrassment for the Spartans (3-3 overall, 1-1 Big Ten), it also opened the door for a possible quarterback controversy. The door was unlocked roughly three minutes into the third quarter when MSU head coach Bobby Williams sent sophomore quarterback Damon Dowdell into the game. On the Spartans’ previous possession, junior quarterback Jeff Smoker fumbled after a 3-yard scramble.