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News | Michigan

MICHIGAN

Michigan businesses gather to network, share wares

The Lansing Center was alive Tuesday as the Making it in Michigan entrepreneurial workshop visited for the sixth year in a row. The workshop was put on by the MSU Product Center and featured a keynote address from Tim McIntyre, the vice president of communications of Dominos Pizza Inc. and a trade show of local Michigan businesses took place in the afternoon.

MICHIGAN

East Lansing postpones swearing-in ceremony, mayor appointment

The appointment of a new mayor and the swearing-in of newly elected East Lansing city council members Ruth Beier, Susan Woods and Kathleen Boyle has been postponed to next Wednesday Nov. 20 at 6:30 p.m. According to a statement from city officials, results from the Nov. 5 election have not been certified by the county.

MICHIGAN

International enrollment, study abroad program nationally ranked

When it comes to students studying abroad and international enrollment, the 2013 Open Door Report released by the Institute of International Education on Monday established MSU as a leader in international engagement, at least in plurality. MSU had the fourth most students sent abroad in the 2011-2012 school year, according to the report, with 2,380 students studying abroad. This equates to almost five percent of the university’s total enrollment.

MICHIGAN

Lansing Mitten Mavens host roller derby bout

As the girls circled, the commentator’s mid-ranged drone echoed across the track, his words impossible to decipher from the near-hysterical screams of derby-girls melding with the referee’s periodic whistles. At times, the girls’ voices take on an almost religious, speaking-in-tongues-type fervor; the shrillness piercing fans’ ears with the fury and energy of the Almighty Himself.

MICHIGAN

Theatre freshmen put on original performance during Freshman Showcase

The Department of Theatre housed its seventh annual Freshman Showcase this weekend with several showings of “Off With Her Head,” a play inspired by the classic children’s tale “Alice in Wonderland.” The cast, consisting of 17 freshman along with a production team, collaborated to devise a storyline, create a set and present an hour-long performance to introduce themselves to the faculty and staff of the MSU Department of Theatre.

MICHIGAN

Impression 5 event introduces kids to science

About 70 members of the MSU community spent Saturday at the Impression 5 Science Center in Lansing to help cultivate a new generation of potential scientists. Volunteers educated children from preschool through fifth grade about the human body in an event called PhUn Day. MSU undergraduate, graduate and medical students, as well as staff and faculty, were present to help.

MICHIGAN

Michigan public universities to offer in-state tuition for veterans

Veterans now can receive in-state tuition at Michigan’s public universities, the organization representing the state’s 15 public universities announced Friday. MSU joined the list of colleges offering the benefit of in-state tuition for all veterans about a week ago, said Mike Boulus, executive director of the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan.

MICHIGAN

Feds implement new programs to help student loan borrowers

The U.S. Department of Education is hoping to eradicate some of the misunderstanding around ways to pay back student loan debt with a new outreach program designed to teach graduates about more affordable options when paying back their loans. In a statement released this week, the department said it will be ?sending emails about loan payment options to about 3.5 million recent graduates.

MICHIGAN

Film festival features environmental themes

Several environmental films will be screened at the East Lansing Film Festival, and MSU officials and local community members will be speaking about the films in a panel discussion on Saturday. The films being shown are “Trashed,” about the impact of littering; “More than Honey,” about the importance of honeybees and “Food for Change: The Story of Cooperation in America,” about food cooperatives.

MICHIGAN

State bill could exempt students from jury duty

Students might not to have to serve their jury duty during college semesters if the state Senate approves a new state bill the House OK’d last Wednesday. Rep. Kevin Cotter, R-Mount Pleasant, introduced the bill, which would let full-time college students postpone duty until the end of the school year.

MICHIGAN

Council leaves trail of legacies and questions

As East Lansing Mayor Diane Goddeeris adjourned the city council meeting on Wednesday, the sun set on a city council that has had a varying legacy. On Wednesday, the council finished the mandatory five-year code review as part of the comprehensive plan, passing five ordinances to finish the process. It’s the group’s last meeting before newly-elected members Ruth Beier and Susan Woods fill the seats of Kevin Beard and Vic Loomis, both of whom chose not to run for reelection.

MICHIGAN

Connor McCowan sentenced to minimum of 20 years in prison

Okemos resident Connor McCowan was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison Wednesday morning for the murder of MSU student Andrew Singler. McCowan was convicted of second-degree murder last month for fatally stabbing Singler, his sister’s boyfriend, during an argument on Feb. 23 that came to physical blows. Singler, 23, was left with two wounds in his heart and arm. Defense attorney Chris Bergstrom asked Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Clinton Canady III to remain lenient on McCowan’s sentence. Bergstrom maintained McCowan acted in self-defense that night, fearing for his life after Singler struck him in the head.

MICHIGAN

Influential journalism adviser, MSU alumnus passes away

If it wasn’t for Jeff Nardone, professional writing sophomore Emily Cervone would not have come to MSU. The MSU alumnus, also the adviser for Grosse Pointe South High School’s weekly student newspaper “The Tower,” saw Cervone’s writing abilities when she was a staff writer for the paper and encouraged her to study at MSU. “He was just so vibrant and passionate about not just teaching journalism, but life,” Cervone said. “I learned so much in that class — how to handle people, handling deadlines, just like a regular job.”

MICHIGAN

McCowan to face sentencing in case

Following a second-degree murder conviction, Okemos resident Connor McCowan will be sentenced Wednesday morning. After an argument between two friends turned violent on the morning of Feb. 23, McCowan, 19, fatally stabbed MSU student Andrew Singler, 23. It is possible McCowan could receive life in prison. Given McCowan’s lack of prior offenses, his attorney, Chris Bergstrom, said he plans to ask the judge for the lightest sentence possible.