Sunday, January 11, 2026

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MSU

Debaters take first-place honors in tourney

Calum Matheson and Austin Carson are roommates. They’re also the best two-person college debate team in the nation. This MSU Debate Team duo brought home top honors in a tournament hosted by the University of Kentucky earlier this month - the first time MSU’s top two-person team has won. The pair met when they were recruited by MSU.

NEWS

Bill to grant government agencies limited access to student records

Congress is working to put a bill on President Bush’s desk this week that expands government agencies’ power to investigate suspected terrorists - including greater access to student records. Differences in each of the chamber’s bills will have to be settled before a combined bill can be submitted for expected presidential approval. U.S.

COMMENTARY

Columnist missed point on Emmys

While flipping through The State News my attention was drawn to Drew Harmon’s column, “Emmys should remain canceled” (SN 10/15). I agree the Emmys should be delayed, but, as I had not given the award show’s cancellation much thought, I read the article in hope of becoming more enlightened to the topic.

COMMENTARY

Grad gloom?

New problems are facing recent and soon-to-be graduating college students. While sitting on piles of credit card bills and student loans, we’re faced with the uncertainty of today’s economy.With an unpredictable economy, students are wondering if they will find the jobs needed to pay off their debts.

MICHIGAN

City seeks applicants for advisory boards

East Lansing residents looking for a way to get involved in the decision-making processes of the city have about two weeks left. Applications are currently being accepted for 13 of the city’s 18 advisory boards and commissions dealing with the arts, environment, city government and numerous other issues. Several of East Lansing’s boards and commissions are looking to fill vacancies created by terms expiring in December as well as some already existing empty seats, creating a total of 26 open positions. The role of boards and commissions is to advise the city council on issues and the actions they should take and direct involvement assures your ideas and concerns are heard, said Darryl Svochak, who chairs the Housing Commission. “It doesn’t take all that much time, and while you don’t get paid, you have an opportunity to present your viewpoints to council and get them heard,” he said. City advisory boards and commissions currently seeking applications are: Arts Commission (two), Board of Review (one), Building Board of Appeals (one), Cable and Telecommunications (three), Commission on the Environment (four), East Lansing Recreation and Arts (one), Historic District Commission (three), Commission on Housing (four), Human Relations Commission (two), Planning Commission (one), Seniors Commission (one), Transportation Commission (two) and Zoning Board of Appeals (one). Applications for appointment and descriptions of the duties of commissioners can be picked up at City Hall, 410 Abbott Road, in City Clerk Sharon Reid’s office or the city council office. And Svochak said in the continued city effort to improve relations between the student population and the city itself, he personally would like to encourage students to apply. “Students live in East Lansing too,” he said.

FEATURES

Lansing Area Potters Guild holds annual Empty Bowls

Generous folk in the Lansing area can enjoy a bowl of soup and help the needy today. Empty Bowls, a program put on by the Lansing Area Potter’s Guild, Clayworks, independent local potters and the American Red Cross Regional Food Distribution Center raises money for local shelters, soup kitchens and food pantries. For $15, guests get soup in a bowl crafted by area potters, which they can keep, a piece of bread and a bottle of water. It will take place at the Center For The Arts, 425 Grand Ave.

NEWS

Tuition tax credit on hold

Lansing - A bill to repeal the Michigan Tuition Tax Credit is barely breathing. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education didn’t offer enough votes to pass forward legislation that would have refunded about $75 per semester to MSU students taking 15 credits, and more than $33 million to students statewide. But the failure of the subcommittee to approve the bill will not stop the full Appropriations Committee from taking up the issue. “I’m hoping that we can bypass the subcommittee process, which is obviously not working,” said state Rep.

MICHIGAN

Survey says frogs reappear despite dwindling habitats

Different species of frogs are thriving and not croaking, the annual state frog survey suggests.The survey is conducted by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and began in 1988 to develop knowledge of the amphibians.Despite concerns over disappearing habitats, the critters have been making comebacks with a little help.Ecologists stress the importance of frogs as important links on the food chain for other animals as well as consuming insects.

COMMENTARY

Actions to natives was early terrorism

Jeffrey Formanczyk seems to think we native peoples should just stay out of sight, out of mind and swept under the rug of collective American ignorance so the rest of the country can focus on the really important things like the Sept.

MSU

Trio of Bs set to speak at ceremony

Three distinguished men have been scheduled to speak at the fall commencement ceremonies which are to be held at Breslin Center. The speakers are Lee Bollinger, president of the University of Michigan; Clark Bunting, vice president and general manager for the Discovery Channel; and Roger Beachy, director of the Donal Danforth Plant Science Center in St.