More than two weeks after the “East Lansing City Council was elected, former Mayor Pro Tem Nathan Triplett took over as mayor after new council members were sworn in Wednesday night.
Nestled in a far corner of the Plant and Soil Sciences Building, the MSU Salsa Club slowly transformed room A149 from a classroom to a ballroom, complete with decorations to fit the winter wonderland theme of their dance class. The makeshift classroom was momentarily adorned with snowflakes, tinsel and candy canes. Although the decor was whimsical, the cause was serious: raising money for the benefit of the people in the Philippines affected by Typhoon Haiyan.
Students and faculty gathered Wednesday night at the Rock to celebrate Transgender Day of Remembrance and recognize the deaths of transgender individuals through a candlelight vigil. The national annual event brought out students and faculty members to show their support on issues faced in the transgender community and remember those were killed for being transgender.
Memories of a tragic winter night made Caiti Berry’s pledge not to drink and drive an easy choice. Berry, a criminal justice senior and a member of Spartans Against Drunk Driving, said she learned the true effects of driving drunk when one of her close friends was killed in an accident involving alcohol.
A new Twitter hashtag has opened the doors for a slew of comments providing an honest, uncensored look at how black MSU students view their university experience. The hashtag “BBMSU,” short for “Being Black at MSU,” recently was created to publicize both positive and negative experiences and aspects of the university that black students have noticed.
A new student group on-campus has been “on the rise” lately, promoting social involvement and community service. On The Rise was formed through a casual conversation between social relations and public policy junior K’Lynn Victoria Thomas and Joshua Gillespie, assistant director at Residence Education and Housing Services, or REHS.
The appointment of East Lansing’s new mayor and the swearing-in of councilmember-elects Kathleen Boyle, Susan Woodsmk and Ruth Beier will be at 6:30 p.m.
Anything from an on-campus laboratory to an MSU student’s dorm room has a chance to earn Green Certification from the Office of Campus Sustainability.
For the first time in 141 years, MSU officials formally recognized the Greek community as student organizations during a relationship statement signing.
Swedish clothing retailer H&M will be a part of the Meridian Mall, taking the space currently occupied by Abercrombie and Fitch, according to Meridian Township Community Planning Development director Mark Kieselbach. H&M filled out a redevelopment permit that recently was approved by Meridian Township. Kieselbach said the timeline of the project redevelopment is up to the mall and has not yet been announced.
The 2013-14 budget update was presented at Tuesday’s University Council meeting, with the report stressing the estimated impact of the federal budget sequestration, or series of federal spending cuts, that took more than $16.7 million out of MSU’s research budget alone. “This represents the sequester as it is currently implemented,” MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon said during the meeting. “There is another fear of the sequester that if there is no budget deal, there will be a 12 percent decrease effective in the January or February timeframe.”
For physiology senior Mohkam Singh, every morning is somewhat the same. The alarm wakes him up about an hour before class; he showers, eats, then begins to get ready for the day. Singh picks out what he will wear without forgetting to add a very important final touch — his turban. “It takes me about 5-10 minutes to tie my turban in the morning,” said Singh, who’s been wearing a head turban since childhood.
A pool of 100 candidates for MSU’s new Vice President for Strategic Infrastructure Planning and Facilities, or VP for SIPF, was narrowed down to one today when the recommended candidate was announced. MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon recommended Kemel Dawkins to be the next VP for SIPF. The announcement comes more than two months after Dawkins was named as one of the three finalists for the position.
The academic courses young adults take have a large influence on the friendships they form in both high school and college, according to a national study conducted by an MSU professor. The study evaluates high school students, but the same principles carry over to students when they eventually go to college, said Kenneth Frank, a professor in MSU’s College of Education and the study’s leader.
The East Lansing woman believed to be missing has contacted her family and assured them of her safety.
At his State of the State address in January, Gov. Rick Snyder called for a $1.2 billion increase in funding to repair and maintain Michigan’s roads. But after a meeting last week between Snyder and legislative leaders, that goal seems no closer to completion than the day it was proposed. According to a Michigan Department of Transportation report released in May, the conditions of Michigan’s roadways will begin to decline without a significant increase in funding. To measure the condition of Michigan roads, the state surveys the roads and rates their condition on a scale of “good,” fair” and “poor.” According to data from the Transportation Asset Management Council collected between 2011 and 2012, 13.77 percent of roads in East Lansing are classified in good condition, 57.46 percent are in fair condition and 28.77 percent are in poor condition.
During his interrogation, the man accused of committing a series of sexual assaults in East Lansing earlier this year adamantly denied any involvement in any of the attacks before eventually confessing.
One of East Lansing’s largest downtown business spaces is officially filled once again as Jackson National Life Insurance Co. opened its doors for business Monday, redesigning and taking over the former Barnes and Noble location at 333 E. Grand River Ave.
A severe storm whipped through East Lansing on Sunday night, causing damage and power outages for students, residents and officials. The storm started at about 5 p.m. and continued with high winds throughout Sunday night and into Monday.
Despite having the youngest team in decades, the MSU Fencing club is looking to their upcoming competition with confidence. Meg Green, the women’s sabre captain, described the season so far as “fantastic” despite the large amount of young players.