Faculty pay could increase 4.7 percent

A recommendation to raise the amount of money available for faculty salaries by 4.7 percent for the 2006-07 school year would help MSU stay competitive with other Big Ten institutions, university officials said. The proposed salary increase was calculated to make up for a smaller increase than other universities last year and overcome anticipated salary hikes at other universities, said Ross Emmett, chairperson of the University Committee on Faculty Affairs, which proposed the salary increase. "The Big Ten essentially represents our competitive pool of similar universities," Emmett said.

Cheaper to read

Books are just one of many expenses college students have to meet as they pursue their education. However, students could be receiving at least a little relief — 6 percent to be exact — if a bill providing a sales tax exemption on college textbooks becomes law. House Bill 5568 provides for an exemption for the sales tax on a textbook required for taking a course at any institute for post-secondary education. Rep.

New high-tech labs open on Main Library 4th floor

Two new collaborative technology labs were added to the Main Library on Tuesday that will offer new high-tech equipment to the MSU community. The labs are located in the Digital & Multimedia Center on the fourth floor of the library's west wing, and were converted from existing rooms.

Professor elected to academy

An MSU John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor received one of the highest honors in science Tuesday when he became a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Richard Lenski has appointments in MSU's Departments of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Zoology and Crop and Soil Sciences, and received a call Tuesday notifying him of his election to the academy. "It was a huge surprise," Lenski said.

Lansing plays host to 2nd annual pro-choice rally

Posters with pictures of aborted fetuses and some with the words "Students for Choice" adorned the lawn of the Michigan Capitol on Tuesday for the 2nd annual Michigan March for Choice rally. The rally aimed to show legislators that the majority of Michigan voters are pro-choice, said Sarah Scranton, executive director of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Michigan, one of the groups that sponsored the event. MSU international relations and economics senior Katie Wilcox held pro-life signs with the MSU Students For Life protesting the rally.

Wal-Mart looks to 'super'-size in Okemos

The Wal-Mart in Okemos is trying to expand into a Super Wal-Mart, but many residents in Meridian Township are worried an even bigger version of the retailer will push out smaller businesses in the area and add traffic to an already congested area. Wal-Mart employee Roxanne Launstein, 22, hopes the store will be able to expand. Wal-Mart has requested a permit from Meridian Township to allow the store to expand by nearly 49,500 square feet, stay open 24 hours a day and also add a drive-through pharmacy to the store.

Police briefs 04/26/06

Police encourage creation of UMADD

Police and university officials hope to start a university chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, to get students involved in prevention and education activities. "It's one thing for the police to talk about the dangers; it's another thing to hear it from your peers," MSU police Inspector Kelly Beck said. East Lansing police Chief Tom Wibert said he hopes to establish a student organization with police officers as resources. Wibert and Beck met with Mary Ann Bair, the MADD Michigan program director, earlier this month to discuss starting a UMADD chapter at MSU. Bair could not be reached for comment. When Wibert became police chief last May, he said he made drunken driving prevention a priority.

Online video game will aim to teach Chinese language, culture

Made flash cards of vocabulary words? Check. Read study terms in textbook? Check. Played online video game with friends?

2006 Crystal Award winners announced

East Lansing announced Monday the winners of the 2006 Crystal Awards for enhancing the quality of life. This year's recipients are: Howard Ballein, owner of the Student Book Store, 417 E.

Governance OKs minors

Students are one step closer to adding academic minors to their transcripts now that the concept has been approved by the Academic Governance system. Individual colleges and departments have been given the OK to consider whether they will offer academic minors to students, following the approval of a proposal about the topic at Tuesday's Academic Council meeting. Academic minors are defined as a secondary field of study for undergraduates and are made up of courses that provide a student with understanding of the field's major concepts. "It's a long, overdue change that the students have been asking for quite awhile," said Eric Hinojosa, ASMSU's Academic Assembly chairperson. Sarah Kunst, a retailing and interdisciplinary studies in social science sophomore, said she would add a minor to her transcript. "As a retailing major, I have a business cognate, but I think that having a minor shows your work more," Kunst said.

Police briefs 04/25/06

Bike project expands spring service hours

The MSU Bike Project has added additional workshop hours from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursdays to combat the increased need for bikes and bike repairs. The Bike Project is a group composed of volunteers dedicated to promoting bicycling on campus. It offers one-year leases for bikes and provides bike repair services to the MSU community for donations.

MSU, China formally declare partnership

Officials from MSU and China's National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language signed an agreement Monday to create the MSU Confucius Institute, which will provide online Chinese language instruction to students across the state. MSU President Lou Anna K.

Extraordinary births

Tucked away in their own corner of the barn, four lambs slept soundly near each other under the careful watch of their mother. "It's hard being center stage all the time," said Holly Glomski, farm manager at the MSU Sheep Teaching and Research Center. The four lambs are one of two sets of live quadruplet lambs born at the center this month.

Group searches for new natural sciences dean

With another college dean leaving at the end of 2006, faculty members are beginning to search for candidates who can fill the position. Dean George Leroi of the College of Natural Science is planning to retire and will step down from his position on Dec.

Wal-Mart pays out $1.5M in violation of Mich. item-pricing regulation

Missing price tags will force Wal-Mart to pay a $1.5 million settlement, the Michigan attorney general's office announced Monday. It is the largest fine issued for violating a Michigan law which requires stores to label prices on most of their merchandise. "This is an issue that faces every retailer in the state of Michigan," said Wal-Mart spokesperson John Simley. Simley said that Wal-Mart stores contain hundreds of thousands of items. "That's an awful lot of items to have a price sticker on," he said.

Mich. cities plan to cut emissions

Global warming has appeared on the radar in recent years as scientists continually question what could happen if Earth's temperature continues to rise.

E.L. building approved after 2-year wait

A four-story building approved last week by the East Lansing City Council, to be constructed between 500 Albert Ave.

'Dreamworlds II' to play on campus today

The film "Dreamworlds II" will be screened on campus today at Olds Hall in room 11. The movie shows the impact of pop culture on young people in regard to their sexuality and gender, using more than 200 images from music videos to illustrate the point. Free pizza will be served at 12:30 p.m., with the film starting at 1:00 p.m.