Monday, April 27, 2026

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MICHIGAN

ASMSU to pose tenant law to E.L.

During the campaign for East Lansing City Council, candidates spoke frequently about the need to strengthen relations between city residents and university residents.Many of the topics brought up, including getting a student to serve on city council and changing the primary date for city elections, are also concerns facing ASMSU, MSU’s undergraduate student government.

FEATURES

Michigan writers to speak at Old Town Poetry series tonight

Michigan poets Mary Ann Samyn and Gerry LaFemina arrive in Old Town Lansing today for an evening of poetry at The Creole Gallery, 1218 Turner St. Tonight’s Old Town Poetry series reading is sponsored by the Lansing Poetry Club and the Lansing Community College Creative Writing Club. “It seemed like a good idea to link up the writing club with The Creole Gallery,” club adviser and LCC Professor Dennis Hinrichsen said. Hinrichsen said the poets were chosen because of their recent publications and because he thought it was important to feature Michigan writers. Their most recent collections are LaFemina’s “Zarathustra in Love,” and Samyn’s “Inside the Yellow Dress.” He described LaFemina’s poetry as “Whitman-esque.” LaFemina wrote for a time about living in New York City, and now incorporates his city experiences with poetry about life in Michigan. “Mary Ann Samyn writes a very spare, lyrically concise poem,” Hinrichsen said.

COMMENTARY

Tuition tax credit should be repealed

It’s tough enough paying for school as a student. Students rack up thousands in debt because most 18- to 22-year-olds just don’t have $40,000 set aside for their education. But Michigan’s tuition tax credit has caused unprecedented tuition increases and jeopardized the quality of education students like me struggle to afford. This year is the first year that MSU is unable to continue its tuition guarantee, which promised to keep tuition increases at or below the projected rate of inflation.

NEWS

Peers blamed for Wiccan girls suicide

Lincoln Park - Pictures of Tempest Smith’s crooked smile and blue eyes are frozen in time - reminders of the ballerina, honor role student, flute player and daughter Denessa Smith called her “blessing.” Denessa’s eyes fill up with tears when she remembers “My Family,” the song Tempest composed and the Sylvester slippers Tempest put on her feet to keep her warm when she fell asleep on the couch. “It was a rule that if mom didn’t tuck you in, you tucked mom in,” Denessa said. Denessa remembers the last “I love you” from Tempest, the night before the 12-year-old tied a scarf around her neck and hung herself from her bunk bed on February 20. Tempest’s journal, found under her bed after her Feb.

FEATURES

Uncle Earl to perform at Creole

Meegan Holland said the Creole Gallery, 1218 Turner St., in Lansing, doesn’t generally book old-time country-bluegrass acts, but something about the newly formed “Uncle Earl” showed promise. “You’ve just got four very talented women up there so I figured you can’t go wrong,” said Holland, the concert presenter for the gallery. “Uncle Earl” will perform at 7:30 p.m.

NEWS

Pagans in college face stereotypes of faith

Pagan groups at universities across the country are practicing their faith, but some of the campus organizations say they’ve faced discrimination. A decision by the Religious Council, which monitors religious organizations at Boston University, to not endorse campuswide neopagan organization Nemeton upset pagans. Seamus McKeon, a religious studies junior and president of Nemeton, said the decision prevents her group from participating in council events and receiving funding from Boston University for religious books and ritual tools. McKeon said the decision was based on stereotypes.

MSU

Campus Briefs

As part of National Osteopathic Medicine Week, a program to learn more about the threat of bioterrorism and anthrax will be held tonight at the Kellogg Center. “Anthrax, Bioterrorism: What You Have to Know” starts at 7 p.m.

FEATURES

Lit album disappointing

Lit Atomic RCA Lit is one of those bands people love or hate. Either way, it’s hard to deny it writes some catchy stuff, and this album is a vindication of why it is such a popular outfit. It doesn’t matter that the percussion work is minimal and amazingly simple, but perhaps that’s the point.

BASKETBALL

Three basketball recruits warming up pens to sign letters today

At 11 a.m. today Rochester forward Paul Davis, Detroit Crockett guard Maurice Ager and Arlington (Indianapolis) forward Delco Rowley will sign letters of intent to play for MSU men’s head basketball coach Tom Izzo in 2002.Recruiting analyst Dave Telep of bluechiphoops.com said Izzo’s new gang of recruits rests in line with some of college basketball’s more storied programs.

COMMENTARY

Bombs away

President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin have put together a positive agreement to reduce the nuclear stockpiles of their two nations.During the next decade, the United States will reduce its arsenal of strategic nuclear warheads from an inventory of about 7,000 to between 1,700 and 2,000.

COMMENTARY

Race discrimination felt around world

I am writing in response to the letter about the Meridian Mall case (“Meridian Mall case gets too much play,” SN 11/7). Unfortunately, I disagree with the student’s views. I believe we are all aware of the attacks on the United States and that professional news organizations outside of MSU have done an exceptional job of keeping us abreast of the latest facts.

COMMENTARY

Economics lesson needed for SN

Missing from The State News editorial (“Balancing act,” SN 11/8) was an understanding of economics. I find it very hard to grasp how The State News could find it wrong for the largest cuts in the state’s budget to come from the Department of Corrections.

FEATURES

Band offers nonessential album

The first question you need to ask yourself when perusing this week’s new releases is a simple one: “Do we really need this album?” The first answer you should come to is, “no, no we most certainly do not.” Perhaps the only redeeming quality to this album is that it features two brand new songs.

COMMENTARY

Protect our kids

Another sorrowful school shooting this week in Michigan underscores the need for greater responsibility with guns, and in the way we care for our children.A 17-year-old student carrying a .22-caliber rifle and 20-gauge shotgun took a teacher and classmate hostage for hours Monday before releasing them and killing himself at The Caro Learning Center, about 75 miles north of Detroit.Authorities have not revealed how the student got the guns, but the issue of gun control and accessibility lies only on the fringe of this issue.It’s obvious we need better ways of limiting access to firearms and restricting the way a child can use them.