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MICHIGAN

Judge discounts recent lawsuit

Beau Hayhoe
March 14, 2012

A lawsuit filed against the city of East Lansing accusing the city council of violating a law that mandates all governing bodies hold open meetings has been thrown out by Judge Clinton Canady of Ingham County’s 30th Circuit Court. The lawsuit — filed by East Lansing resident Phil Bellfy and his attorney, Jeffrey Hank — said the city council violated the Open Meetings Act, or OMA, and made a secret decision not to investigate Bellfy’s claims of misconduct by the city attorney’s office.

MSU

Corporate partnerships help start careers

Stephen Brooks
March 14, 2012

Continuing an increasing trend of interaction between academic programs at MSU and outside companies, the game design and development specialization — which recently was ranked as one of the best programs in the country by the Princeton Review for the second consecutive time — has added a new corporate partner.

MICHIGAN

Developer says City Center II ready to advance

Beau Hayhoe
March 14, 2012

In response to the article “E.L. extends City Center II’s financial plans to April,” (SN, 3/14), Strathmore Development Company President Scott Chappelle said in an email he is confident the City Center II project has all the necessary components in place to move the project forward to completion.

MICHIGAN

Pie lovers celebrate math on Pi Day at Grand Traverse Pie Co.

Alex McClung
March 14, 2012

Mathematicians and dessert enthusiasts united Wednesday afternoon to celebrate Pi Day at Grand Traverse Pie Company, 1403 E. Grand River Ave. At 3:14 p.m., Grand Traverse Pie Company began giving away free slices of pie for 31.4 minutes to celebrate the irrational number, which begins with the digits 3.14.

MSU

Debate team’s young talent prepares for tournament

Rachel Jackson
March 13, 2012

With a slew of successful sophomores and freshmen, the MSU Debate Team has a shot at a national title later this month, after earning a top-16 ranking in the country and garnering wins at other national competitions. MSU Director of Debate Casey Harrigan said the team’s successes this year have earned members a spot in the upcoming National Debate Tournament, or NDT, to begin March 29 at Emory University in Atlanta.

MSU

Professor researches black market for organs, shares information

Rebecca Ryan
March 13, 2012

Monir Moniruzzaman spent a year overseas searching for people who had sold their kidneys on the black market and what he found left him shocked. In his research on the organ market in Bangladesh, which was recently published by the Medical Anthropology Quarterly, the assistant professor of anthropology and faculty member of the Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences said organ brokers and the media take advantage of the people in desperate need of money and manipulate them into selling their organs to local or overseas residents.

MICHIGAN

Mich. prepares for sale, use of newly legal fireworks

Ian Kullgren
March 13, 2012

Fourth of July will have more of a spark this year thanks to a new Michigan law allowing consumers to access more powerful fireworks, and although no stores in the state currently are carrying rockets or firecrackers, police are warning residents about potential noise violations using the explosives could bring with the approaching St. Patrick’s Day weekend and NCAA Tournament.

MSU

Muslim Students' Association hosts Islam awareness week

Kellie Rowe
March 13, 2012

For international relations sophomore Kanza Khan, Thursday won’t be the first time she has worn a head scarf. But it will be the first time she wears it for an entire day. “I’m kind of nervous to see reactions in classes,” she said. “Obviously, people are going to ask questions. I hope to give them the proper answers.”

MSU

Record highs raise spirits at MSU

Lauren Gibbons
March 13, 2012

Trading in coats and scarves for shorts and T-shirts, many students in East Lansing were celebrating Tuesday after a spell of potentially record-breaking warm weather hit Michigan, experts said.

MSU

Accounting major ranks high

Stephen Brooks
March 12, 2012

When accounting senior Mike DeBona came to MSU, he had the intention of majoring in a business-related field. After initially choosing marketing, he eventually changed his major to accounting because of the strength of the program. “The economy’s tough and I wanted job security,” DeBona said. “The fact that (the program) was recognized so highly and challenging … I thought it would provide me with a versatile degree.”

MSU

Students, alumni attend Southwest Music and Media Conference

Andrew Krietz
March 12, 2012

As the worlds of entertainment and technology unite in Austin, Texas, thousands of people — including some from MSU — are attending the annual Southwest Music and Media Conference. The conference, commonly referred to as South by Southwest, or SXSW, hosts several sessions to showcase the latest in interactive media, said Tim Bograkos, the young alumni coordinator for the MSU Alumni Association and a conference attendee. During Twitter’s infancy, years ago, the service was first shown off at the conference.

MICHIGAN

Study takes closer look at US citizenship exam format

Lauren Gibbons
March 12, 2012

Results of a recent study questioning the legitimacy of the U.S. Naturalization Test might cause concern for immigrants, including some MSU students vying for official citizenship status in the U.S., according to an MSU professor. Paula Winke, assistant professor of second language studies and lead researcher on the study, said the analysis largely focused on the randomness and level of difficulty of different questions asked in the civics portion of the U.S. Naturalization Test and determined the test structure might be unreliable.