Pizza House delivery man robbed at gunpoint

A carryout of a different kind occurred Oct. 3 when a Pizza House delivery man was robbed at gunpoint of $175 in cash and two pizzas outside Deerpath Apartments in East Lansing, police said. At about 4:10 a.m., the 31-year-old delivery man was making his last delivery of the night when two men with guns approached him from behind as he tried to buzz into the building, East Lansing police Det.

ASMSU condemns Young Americans for Freedom event

Student government officials took an active stance by passing a bill condemning "Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day" last Thursday during an ASMSU Student Assembly meeting. Mark Dobson, vice president of the Residence Halls Association, introduced the bill to ASMSU, MSU's undergraduate student government, after he gained support for passing a similar bill within the undergraduate residential government. The event was planned by MSU student group Young Americans for Freedom, or YAF, after the planning of the University of Michigan's YAF event.

Day focuses on native people

Many students on campus celebrated Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday instead of Columbus Day. Some student groups, such as the North American Indigenous Student Association, or NAISO, refer to the event as Indigenous Peoples Day because Christopher Columbus claimed the Americas when natives were already there, NAISO co-chairperson Vanessa Welch said. "People that don't know about Native American culture say that Columbus found America when really North Americans were already there," the studio art sophomore said.

Organization gathers donations, food for local people in need

Carl Berggren is 52 years old. He suffers from bipolar disorder and lives on a fixed income. Right now, he's taking classes at Lansing Community College in hopes of eventually working with substance abuse victims. For Berggren and 50,000 others in the Lansing area, programs like the Michigan Harvest Gathering make life a little easier. "It's beautiful to be able to turn to an organization when things are tight," Berggren said of the fundraising campaign to raise $350,000 and 500,000 pounds of food for food banks throughout the state. "It's people helping people," Berggren said. The 16th annual Michigan Harvest Gathering began in September and runs until Nov.

City continues to work with development firm

Although the job history of a company working on the East Village project wasn't made explicitly clear to some of the area's property owners, the business will continue doing preliminary studies for the project. Representatives from The Pierce Company of San Diego, Calif., didn't mention in some meetings with East Village property owners and city officials that they weren't working on a similar redevelopment project at San Diego State University.

Campus organization helps students register to vote locally

With the Nov. 7 elections approaching, Hubbard Hall's Black Caucus registered voters from 4-8 p.m.

Committees created to include faculty input

Five committees were created to help resolve major issues after MSU faculty members said they wanted more input on decisions made within the university. The committees, called the Faculty Voice Task Forces, were created in September 2005 and worked throughout the spring.

Appreciating Autumn

Dressed in jeans, a button-down shirt and red suspenders, Cliff Welsch grabbed two heaping handfuls of apples, which would be pressed into fresh cider Saturday at the Student Organic Farm Harvest Fest. Welsch guided people through the cider-making process using a wooden press he and his wife, Margaret, bought 30 years ago.

Officials propose new music college

The addition of a new academic college could be music to the ears of some MSU students and officials. Academic Assembly received a proposal from university officials on Tuesday to support the School of Music's move to becoming a college.

Student organic farm to host informative event

The Student Organic Farm Harvest Fest will be held from 1-5 p.m. Saturday. The farm was created in 1999 to provide information to students regarding organically grown food. Events featured at the festival include fresh food, hayrides, farm tours, cider-pressing, face-painting and a pie-eating contest, among other things. The festival will feature live music from local bands Head and Toe, A Story Told and Dali Rocket. The farm is located at 3291 College Road in Holt.

MCRI sides square off, challenge its merits

Lansing — Opposing sides of a Michigan ballot proposal to ban some state affirmative action programs squared off Thursday in Lansing. The Inforum Center for Leadership sponsored a Michigan Civil Rights Initiative debate at the Lansing Sheraton hotel between MCRI Executive Director Jennifer Gratz, who supports the initiative, and Bruce Courtade, a Grand Rapids lawyer who opposes it.

Career Gallery offers jobs in, out of state

To stay or not to stay? That's the question many MSU students must ask themselves after the annual two-day Career Gallery ended at Breslin Center Thursday. Sixty-four percent of last year's graduates who were in-state students remained in Michigan, said Phil Gardner, director of research at the Collegiate Employment Research Institute. "It's slowly gone down," Gardner said, adding that the figure was about 75 percent in the late '90s. This year's graduating class must make a similar decision. During the Career Gallery, students eyed 355 different companies that offered different location possibilities across the country. Chris Terrell, who attended the job fair, lives in a townhouse with three roommates who are all business majors.

Cheney talks terror, tax cuts

Bath Township — Vice President Dick Cheney said the United States must reject any strategy that hinders the war on terror Thursday afternoon during a Republican fundraiser in Bath Township, located seven miles north of East Lansing. "Terrorists are still trying desperately to commit acts of violence," Cheney said.

Gov.'s plan aims to keep grads in Mich.

Michigan will now pay for college graduates to stay in the state. Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced a plan Thursday to entice graduates to stay in Michigan by offering low-interest housing loans in communities that need economic development. The low-interest loans, which go into effect Monday, are only applicable in eight Michigan cities, that "need some additional assistance," Granholm said Thursday. "They are communities that have been struggling in the past, and we want to urge dynamic people to move into each of them and provide a carrot for you to do that," Granholm said.

Free business: Apply here

Want free real estate for your own business? It's more realistic than you think. All you have to do is write an essay and pay a $100 entry fee. "It's no joke," said Frank Lain, a Lansing resident who is active on city boards. Lain, paired with business owner Larry Carr, will give away 2,500 square feet of retail space in Lansing, worth about $325,000. The essay contest has three questions: Why do you want a business?

University expands language programs for Lansing, Dearborn public schools with grants

Lansing — Children from Maples Arabic Music Ensemble performed authentic Arabic drum music before university, government and public school officials announced grants given to MSU and Lansing and Dearborn public schools. Gail McGinn, U.S.

Nursing center expands patient care

The MSU College of Nursing Primary Care Center sits inconspicuously among a bevy of other health care providers in the Clinical Center, but it bears a new name and has a broader focus.

Police briefs 10/05/06

Groups to celebrate 'Indigenous Peoples'

Most calendars identify Oct. 9 as Columbus Day. However, some students on campus refer to the day as Indigenous Peoples Day instead. "We call it Indigenous People's Day because in calling it Columbus Day, you're celebrating the mass murder of people," said Ashley Harding, cultural programmer for the North American Indigenous Student Organization, or NAISO.

WEB EXTRA: Pageant takes place at Okemos mall

Okemos — Among the busy shoppers at Meridian Mall Saturday, a beaming Magdalena Peña stood proudly — trophy in hand, tiara on head — after placing first in the 18- to 27-year-old age group of the Miss Sunburst Model Search Pageant preliminaries. Peña, an MSU theatre senior, won a $200 prize to be used for the contestant fee at the Miss Sunburst Model Search Pageant State Finals in May next year. "It's fun; I like it," Peña said. She explained that preparing for pageants includes working out, finding the right dress, getting her nails and hair done, and speech memorization. The event included a model search with age groups ranging from 4- to 27-year-olds who were judged on beauty, poise, projection and overall appearance, and a baby contest that judged babies based on good looks, overall appearance and personality. The 4- to 6-year-old group competition ended in a three-way tie, something Melissa, an assistant director for Sunburst who declined to give her last name because of company policy, said has "never happened as long as I've worked here." When the shy and nervous 4- to 6-year-olds took the floor, they were asked questions about their favorite ice-cream flavor and TV show. "We're looking for your prettiest eyes and your prettiest smiles," the announcer said. Jeremy Scott, an MSU English senior, stopped his shopping to watch the pageant.