For many with an interest in game design, choosing a college can be difficult. Many universities do not offer programs dealing with game design, but MSU is the exception. The Spartasoft club helps students learn about video game design. Peter Burroughs, a media and information freshman, said it brought him to MSU.
Charlie Waller was more than a lover of dinosaurs, zombies and pirates; more than a once-fluffy-blonde-haired 5-year-old who meant the world to his parents and sister.
ASMSU’s special presidential elections were postponed Thursday night after representatives expressed concern about the suspension of the student government’s elections code of operations. The organization’s bylaws state that the student body needs to be informed at least 10 class days prior to the elections.
At noon Thursday in Shaw Hall, students lined up to spend some time with a furry, wagging, and panting ball of stress relief. The Capital Area Humane Society brought five dogs to the River Trail Neighborhood event, allowing students to spend five or 10 minutes with the dogs after giving a donation. Hospitality business and English sophomore Michelle Daniels said she jumped at the opportunity to support the shelter, “especially since these dogs don’t have families.” Shaw Hall assistant community director Ardella Williams said the event raised about $251 for the Capital Area Humane Society. “A lot of people were just really excited to come down, and they left thankful that they got to hang out with the animals,” she said. MSU alumna Lindsay Sandusky, the humane educator for the animal shelter, said the event was beneficial for the students, the animals and the shelter. “It’s an opportunity for us to do a little bit of fundraising and give back to these animals (and) it’s really just a chance (for students) to unravel, relax, do something warm and fuzzy,” Sandusky said. Sandusky said interaction with a dog can mimic the experiences students have at home. There’s a plethora of research that demonstrates human interaction with animals, not just dogs, can reduce stress and anxiety.
Impact 89FM general manager Ed Glazer gave a presentation of the project budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year at this month’s Council of Graduate Students, or COGS, meeting on Wednesday. Glazer said the station is in the middle of having its audit completed. He said the work on the audit should be completed by Thursday, adding that he expects the audit to be done by mid or late December.
Charlie Waller, a 5-year-old East Lansing resident who battled a rare form of brain cancer for most of his life, died early Thursday morning, according to a statement released by his family. Charlie reportedly died peacefully at home at 12:25 a.m. Thursday.
Alyssa Berger thought she had finally solved her housing dilemma by finding a subleaser online for her off-campus house for spring and summer 2014.
As a student at MSU, Amber Teunis had little exposure to teaching children with special needs.? But when she began working as a music therapist at the MSU Community Music School, or CMS, the alumna discovered a whole new side of teaching.? Now a music therapist at CMS, Teunis assists music therapy program director Cindy Edgerton with several programs, including “Together … Let’s Jam!,” a walk-in session held monthly and sponsored by the Capital Area Down Syndrome Association.
A new initiative will offer a more detailed picture of students at MSU by tracking them throughout their college career. The Student Achievement Measure, or SAM Initiative, will collect graduation information about students who transfer from other schools during their college career to track data and uncover graduation trends. In previous graduation measures, only students who started and stayed four years at an institution were counted.
College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Christopher Brown recently announced he will resign in September 2014, sending the university on the hunt for his replacement. Brown’s resignation makes for the fourth college dean position currently unfulfilled at the university.
As the semester comes to a close, 20 students enrolled in an MSU song writing course will have a chance to display their musical skills during a live concert. The students come from diverse musical backgrounds, said professor John Kratus, who teaches the course. From rapping to heavy metal, the students touch almost every genre of music, then compose and perform their pieces for classmates.
ASMSU will be witnessing a new transition going into the spring semester following current ASMSU President Evan Martinak’s resignation on Jan.1, 2014. Four students are running for president, including current Vice President for Governmental Affairs Jessica Leacher, former Vice President for University Programming Christopher McClain, Supply Chain Management freshman Bridgette Mack and history senior Jordan Zammit. Zammit and Mack have not previously been involved with ASMSU. Chief of Staff Kiran Samra said each candidate will have to give a five-minute speech during the next general assembly meeting Thursday, followed by a five-minute question and answer period, which will include questions formulated and agreed on by the general assembly in a closed session.
University officials are reviewing a proposed change to academic policy that would allow students to officially declare a major a full year earlier — at the end of their freshman year instead of sophomore year. The proposal allows, but does not require, students to declare a major at 28 credits instead of 56 credits, as the current policy mandates. Traditionally, all students with fewer than 56 credits are considered no preference majors. Although they might know what major they want to declare, they cannot technically do so until they reach 56 credits. The new policy would have colleges assume responsibility for students at the end of their first year rather than their second.
Swimming pools might not be allowed in front yards without a fence if a proposal before the East Lansing City Council comes to fruition, a policy that potentially could impact students who want to have some fun in the water.
Next year will mark two historic anniversaries in U.S. civil rights, and MSU wants to makes sure they don’t go unobserved. Marketed as “a year-long community conversation on civil and human rights,” Project 60/50 was announced Tuesday in an email from MSU President Lou Anna K.
Veterans are beginning to see the results of state efforts to make Michigan a more veteran-friendly place after condemnation from both public agencies and citizens. Experts say the state has struggled to provide benefits for veterans in the past, but Michigan is beginning to surge with a collective, if somewhat decentralized effort to address the influx of post-9/11 veterans and accommodate them.
A new department could be on the horizon for the MSU College of Engineering, and would be a home for faculty and students with biomedical engineering interests. The proposed Department of Biomedical Engineering would help the university recruit exceptional students and faculty in the field and give a more relevant home for those who are already doing research in the area, said Acting Dean of Engineering Leo Kempel.
As the eight nights of Hanukkah continue throughout the week, MSU students and faculty join together each night to participate in the holiday tradition of lighting the Hanukkah menorah. Historically, Hanukkah is meant to celebrate two miracles, Rabbi Hendel Weingarten of MSU’s Chabad said. The first is the victory Jewish people had over the Syrian-Greek persecutors, and the second is the ability of a small flask of oil to remain lit in the menorah in the Temple for eight days.
Active for more than 500 years, the Vienna Boys’ Choir is one of the most renowned boys’ choirs in the world, and will perform “Christmas in Vienna” on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Wharton Center. Tickets range from $15 to $47. Until the early 20th century, the group originally sang for the imperial court, the mass, for private functions and state occasions. Today, the choir is divided into four touring sub-groups, each named after famous Austrian composers — Bruckner, Haydn, Mozart and Schubert — who were at one time associated with the choir.
The man accused of attacking an MSU student did not have his expected pretrial Tuesday morning. East Lansing resident Samuel Roberts was arrested in October for allegedly holding his ex-girlfriend in his apartment at knifepoint.