Call it an Earth Day project or a cheap way to fight insects. But horticulture sophomore Johanna Wielfaert is working to save the bluebird population by giving the birds a place to call home.
Finance and computer science senior Jason Tuck flashed a smiled as he held up a certificate for his high academic achievement Thursday in the Union.
MSU students Evan Dashe and Anthony Saladino have a message for the East Lansing Police Department, and they put it on a T-shirt. Dashe, an accounting junior and Saladino, a general management freshman, decided to create and sell T-shirts about the April 2-3 disturbances in East Lansing. The dark green shirts with white letters said, "Tear gas is not designed to extinguish fires." The shirts also had a derogatory message for the East Lansing Police Department on the back. About 3,000 people took the streets of East Lansing after the men's basketball team lost to the University of North Carolina in the Final Four.
Michigan's March unemployment rate fell to one of the lowest in about a year at 6.9 percent. The state rate was at 7.4 percent in February and 7.1 percent in January. A year ago in April, the jobless rate was 6.7 percent. But the state rate last month is still higher than the national unemployment rate of 5.2 percent and is one of the country's worst. Economists said the rate has fluctuated in Michigan between 6.7 and 7.5 percent throughout the past two years.
Members of the MSU community spent an evening trying to find out if Virginia Sapiro is the best person for the position of provost. Sapiro, the associate vice chancellor for Teaching and Learning at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the first of five provost candidates who will tour campus, meet with students, faculty and administrators and host a public forum. While Sapiro answered audience questions during her forum, but students were not present in the about 100-person crowd.
It was a seemingly normal Thursday afternoon at the Capitol - state representatives and senators argued about affirmative action and welfare. But these legislators and lobbyists were high school students. About 750 high school students from around the state spent four days acting as government officials and voting on bills in the YMCA's Michigan Youth in Government program. Eleventh grader Tyler Deerfield said he wasn't sure what a lobbyist was when he signed up for the event. But a day into the job in the mock government, he had successfully lobbied against a bill that would change the high school drop-out age from 16 to 18. "I've always had an interest in politics, and I thought I'd see how it was actually run," said Deerfield, of St.
Students looking for a budget friendly way to enjoy the spring weather might find one Saturday at Sparty's Spring Party. The festivities, sponsored by the University Activities Board, Residence Halls Association, Student Alumni Foundation and ASMSU, will begin at 2 p.m.
The East Lansing Public Library could operate with 5,000 fewer books in the next fiscal year if the City Council approves a budget that slashes funding by $50,000. The funds necessary to purchase books are at risk to be cut by nearly one third, said Sylvia Marabate, director of the East Lansing Public Library, 950 Abbott Road, adding the institution normally purchases about 15,000 books a year. "We will work hard to meet our community's expectations, but it may mean some have to wait a little longer for the bestsellers," she said.
One day after the Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA, filed 405 lawsuits for illegal file sharing at 18 colleges and universities - including 20 at MSU - members of the university community are beginning to react. "It's kind of ridiculous because I know a lot of people who do it," education freshman Colleen Goergen said.
When Cara Stiffler learned she would lose her job in fall 2003 for smoking, she never imagined she would wind up in the Michigan Legislature.
Almost two months after the university's surprise decision to shut down Channel 12 at the end of the semester, university officials and student-produced programs are looking for ways to salvage the channel but also prepare for life without it. The channel broadcasts free movies and student-produced programming to MSU's campus and surrounding cities. Residence Halls Association and University Housing have been looking into options to keep the channel afloat, but RHA President Kevin Newman said nothing has developed enough for him to be optimistic about the channel's short-term future. "At this point, I wouldn't expect anything next year to be different from the decisions the university has already made," Newman said. RHA pays about $15,000 a semester for the movies that air on the channel. One option being evaluated is a digital media player system that would substantially cut the channel's labor costs by enabling a month of its programming to be done in 30 minutes. But RHA Campus Center Director James Henderson said evaluations of the program are very preliminary, and he will meet next week with representatives of the company that makes the system to see if it is a feasible option. "We're looking at possibilities, but that's it," Henderson said.
At the Mason Hall Totally Takeout, Uncrustables have to be restocked quickly to keep up with the demand.
Destiny's Child, 50 Cent and Usher will shake their stuff at the Breslin Center in a funky battle for hip-hop fame.
Replacing a $1 million deficit in the city budget was the topic of the East Lansing City Council meeting Tuesday. The 2006 budget, which was released last week, is about $55 million, roughly 2.3 percent less than last year.
The Friends of the East Lansing Public Library, 950 Abbott Road, will hold its spring used book sale from 10 a.m.
About 150 people attended the 2005 Student Employee of the Year recognition program on Tuesday, hosted by the Student Employment Office in the Union ballroom.
Faculty want a salary increase of 4.25 percent next year, and they are willing to pay more for their health care to get it. At Tuesday's Faculty Council meeting, the University Committee on Faculty Affairs presented the proposed increase as part of a five-year plan begun three years ago by MSU President Lou Anna K.
With unseasonably dry weather this spring, the East Lansing Fire Department is extending a ban on all fires in East Lansing indefinitely.