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MSU

ROTC giving back to community through Toys for Tots Foundation

Nolly Dakroury
December 2, 2013

Holiday season might be to a great extent about shopping, but a lot of people still are holding on to the tradition of helping out the less fortunate during this time and brightening up their holidays, including members of MSU’s Spartan Battalion. The Spartan Battalion, Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, or ROTC, is helping the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve collect toys for its Toys for Tots Foundation.

MICHIGAN

New text details emerge in McCowan case

Katie Abdilla
December 1, 2013

A series of text messages exchanged between Okemos resident Connor McCowan and MSU student Andrew Singler just days before the altercation that left Singler dead indicate a close bond between the two, according to a report from the Lansing State Journal.

MSU

OCAT continues tradition of hosting Thanksgiving dinner for students left on campus

April Jones
November 28, 2013

What began in 2003 as a Thanksgiving dinner by a starving MSU undergrad who didn’t have the funds to go home or buy food when the university closed down for the holiday now has expanded to a huge on-campus event and tradition ten years later. “I didn’t have any family around so I stayed in the dorms and I didn’t know what to expect so I kind of starved for those days,” said Felipe Lopez-Sustaita, who graduated MSU in 2005.

MSU

Hanukkah to fall on Thanksgiving for first time since 19th century

April Jones
November 27, 2013

What do you get when Thanksgiving falls late and the Jewish calendar is in a leap year? The result is a collaboration of two major holidays known as Thanksgivukkah. Hanukkah officially began at sunset on Wednesday, and this the first time since the late 19th century that Hanukkah and Thanksgiving overlapped. Experts say it’s something that won’t happen again for about 70,000 years.

MICHIGAN

K-9 'Tex' retires after nearly seven years of service with MSUPD

Katie Abdilla
November 25, 2013

In the nearly seven years he’s been in the MSU Police Department’s K-9 Unit, Officer Mike Cantrell and his dog, Semtex, have formed a bond that will be tough to go without and even tougher to match. But last week, Cantrell’s German Shepherd, nicknamed “Tex,” went to work with him for the last time. Specifically trained to track people and explosives, 8-year-old Tex officially has retired.

MICHIGAN

Education students to face harder proficiency exams

Aspiring teachers might want to spend more time studying for the teacher certification test: the initial pass rate for the required test to be admitted to teacher preparation programs fell from 82 to 26 percent after the state made it more rigorous this fall. The Professional Readiness Examination, or PRE, measures students’ proficiency in reading, writing and math, and is usually taken before their junior year of college.

MSU

MSU student group to send medical goods to those affected by Typhoon Haiyan

Micaela Colonna
November 25, 2013

A student group is teaming up with the MSU’s Institute of International Health to pack and send supply boxes to those in the Philippines affected by Typhoon Haiyan. The boxes will contain medical supplies donated by local hospitals, and include but are not limited to gowns, syringes, catheters and surgical equipment. The effort is being headed by Generate Help 2 Heal Generations, a student-founded nonprofit that provides aid to people in poor countries, is heading the effort. Marco Botros, the group’s president, said it’s important to give these resources to those in need, especially after the wake of a natural disaster.

MSU

Impact 89FM partners with local business in Socks for Lansing project

Nolly Dakroury
November 25, 2013

With the holiday season just around the corner, individuals and organizations are keener on reaching out to give a helping hand to the less fortunate, including MSU’s Impact 89FM. Impact 89FM is assisting with the Socks for Lansing project, initiated by the Rizzi Family of Businesses, to collect brand new unwrapped socks for donation.

MSU

License plate logo change sparking discussions among MSU officials, alumni

Olivia Dimmer
November 25, 2013

As part of a rebranding effort over the years, MSU’s Communications and Brand Strategy, or CABS, department has been making the shift from the historic block “S” logo to the Spartan helmet logo.The new logo has found its way onto the basketball court, the center of the gridiron, on MSU clothing and beginning Feb. 1, on the fundraiser license plate in place of the block “S.” Although the change is spreading throughout campus, MSU Trustee George Perles believes the new logo is less inclusive and does not represent the history of MSU.

MSU

MSU English Language Center students teach second graders

April Jones
November 25, 2013

Second graders at a local elementary school were given the rare opportunity of interacting with people from all over the globe through a Monday festival that featured international students from the MSU English Language Center. Kristen Casby, who teaches at East Lansing’s Marble Elementary School, teamed up with MSU’s English Language Center to welcome 12 international students with backgrounds from South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Angola and Turkey. The international students taught the elementary students their world cultures through interactive activities and displays in the second grade classroom.

MSU

New policy would focus on attendance

Nolly Dakroury
November 24, 2013

MSU’s undergraduate student government, ASMSU, passed a resolution during its academic affairs committee meeting on Thursday that would allow the student government to advocate for a new policy eliminating academic penalties when attending a professional interview.

MICHIGAN

Face Time: Astronaut Chris Hadfield

Simon Schuster
November 24, 2013

Aboard the International Space Station from Dec. 2012 to May 2013, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield took part in various research experiments and technical maintenance of the low-earth orbit station. ?In his spare time, Hadfield cultivated an unprecedented social media presence, using Twitter and YouTube to bring the earthbound public a steady stream of content. His broadcasts earned him a dedicated online following.?