Annual sci-fi writers' workshop approaches
The 35th annual Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop will be held from June 8 to July 19 at Van Hoosen Hall. The workshop is sponsored by the College of Arts and Letters. It will host six nationally recognized science fiction and fantasy authors including: • Howard Waldrop • Nalo Hopkinson • Richard Russo • Kelly Link • Scott Edelman • Maureen McHugh • James Kelly Editors from SCI FI and Science Fiction Weekly also will be on hand for the Writers-in-Residence workshop. For more information go to www.msu.edu/~clarion. Stephanie Korneffel
Partisan ASMSU politics lead to disqualifications, vacancies
Empty seats in ASMSU's conference room will be a theme at the start of the fall, despite the reinstatement of 10 representatives to MSU's undergraduate student government. The All-University Elections Committee announced May 15 that they rejected the appeal of about 28 other ASMSU candidates after they were disqualified for being endorsed by political organizations in the March election.
Transition to new campus e-mail system brings mixed reactions
You've got new mail. Students, faculty and staff members totaling 26,390 have upgraded to the new MSU e-mail system, mail.msu.edu, since its March launch. But the transition has been bumpy, computer lab officials say.
Groucho Marx helps high school students break into record books
Groucho glasses in hand, Joe Kavanagh stood before his fellow East Lansing High School students telling them to prepare to enter the history books.Kavanagh and 799 of his fellow students at 509 E.
Grads sworn in as lawyers
Kelley Hart watched friends do mock court competitions in the MSU-Detroit College of Law moot court room, but on Tuesday she was the one in front of the judge. Hart and eight other MSU-Detroit College of Law graduates were sworn into the State Bar of Michigan by Michigan Supreme Court Justice Steven Markman. "Usually when I go to the courtroom people are at each others throats," Markman said.
Safety belt law to be strictly enforced
East Lansing residents might be belted with tickets during the next two weeks if they don't buckle up. The Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning kicked off its "Buckle Up or Pay Up" campaign on Monday to raise public awareness about wearing safety belts. Extra officers will be placed on the streets in designated zones around the Lansing area to find drivers not wearing safety belts.
Forum held after student finds racially offensive message
An open forum was recently held at the Owen Graduate Hall lobby to discuss racial hostility after a graduate law student found offensively written remarks in the hallway. The student, who did not want to be identified, said he walked by a bulletin board on the hall's fourth floor when he noticed the comments, which were anti-Semitic and anti-Arab in nature.
RHA will fill recently vacated VP post in fall
The internal vice president for the Residence Halls Association has chosen to leave the position. Chris Harper, former Wilson Hall General Assembly representative, decided to leave MSU.
COGS president steps down, treasurer up
James Ciszewski has stepped down as president for the Council of Graduate Students. Ciszewski, who resigned for personal reasons, had been reelected as COGS president in April. The position has been filled by mathematics graduate student Kimberly Yake. Yake will serve as COGS president for a year, ending her duties as the council's former treasurer. President commitments include chairing COGS meetings, acting as a student liaison with the MSU Board of Trustees and participating in various academic council committees. The council represents all graduate students in the academic governance system and provides services to students such as copying and loans. Stephanie Korneffel
Gardening grows new program, certification
The Horticulture Gardening Institute has joined forces with the American Horticultural Society to provide an online learning environment for gardening devotees. Since 2002, the institute has matched experts in the field with gardeners through the online experience. The institute is a collaborative effort among MSU Extension's Master Gardener Program, the MSU Gardens, MSU Global Institute and the Department of Horticulture. The new program allows the society to undertake online education opportunities as well as certification. The society is one of the oldest member-based gardening organization in the nation, which offers gardening resources through its self-published magazine The American Gardener, a book program and Web site, www.ahs.org. The first project formed by the collaboration is "The Art and Science of Container Gardening." The project will play host to the society's experts, a checklist of activities, potential resources, a review of the project and a co-branded certification of the project. For more information on the container project visit www.gardeninginstitute.com Stephanie Korneffel
'U' receives award for pioneering food laws
The MSU International Food Laws Certificate Program received the 2003 National Award for Excellence in College and University Distance Education. The award comes from the American Distance Education Consortium, a collaboration of state and land-grant institutions offering educational programs through the Internet. The MSU Institute for Food Laws and Regulations was the first worldwide program to provide international food laws through a Web site.
E.L. stores, bars search for new ways to fight old summer slump
With many students leaving East Lansing for the summer, local businesses are forced to find alternative ways to bring in customers.Businesses try to take advantage of big summer events such as the East Lansing Art Festival and the Great Lakes Folk Festival to attract customers.Liz Murphy, manager of Harper's Restaurant & Brewpub, 131 Albert Ave., said she finds creative ways to lure people into the restaurant.
Alumna named new V.P. of human resources
Pamela Beemer will become the new assistant vice president for human resources in MSU's Office of Human Resources.Beemer has worked as MSU's director of benefits since 1999 after serving a 20-year tenure in other areas of human resources.Beemer earned her bachelor's degree in employment relations and psychology and her master's degree in labor relations and human resources from MSUShe gained valuable human resource experience while working for Oakland University in Rochester, in the private sector and at Lansing's Sparrow Hospital as director of compensation and benefits.Beemer will be in charge of supervising development, implementation and administration of various human resource initiatives on campus, as well as advise on human resource strategy with the offices of the president, vice president for finance and operations and the provost.She replaces Keith Groty who rejoined the faculty in the School of Labor and Industrial Relations after serving 30 years in the position.
Students studying less, receiving higher grades
According to a new study, high school seniors are slacking on homework time but still pulling off high grades - a sign grade inflation might be taking over. The study, conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute, showed a 26.5 percent increase in the number of high school seniors who earned 'A' averages.
Granholm launches agency
Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced Thursday the relaunching of Mentor Michigan spearheaded by her husband, the newly appointed chairman for the Michigan Community Service Commission.First gentleman Daniel Mulhern will lead the state agency, which funds, promotes and supports volunteer programs throughout the state.Mulhern will replace former Chairman Russ Mawby, a position Mawby held since 2000.The announcement was made at the Lansing Center, 333 E.
More than 100 physically, visually impaired athletes compete in 28th Victory Games
When Justin Major set foot on campus, he had one goal in mind - win big."My goal is to break records and move onto the national competition," said the 26-year-old Pontiac resident.Major was one of 124 athletes with physical or visual impairments from Michigan and surrounding states who competed in the 28th Annual Michigan Victory Games.