MSU’s Graduate Employees Union, or GEU, will be seeking arbitration after the university denied a grievance filed by the union alleging the improper compensation of more than 300 teaching assistants.
Faculty are responding to English professor William Penn’s in-class rant, which some are calling anti-Republican, by putting together a subcommittee to address social media, rights and responsibilities in the classroom, but some students think they should be part of the process.
The Residence Halls Association, or RHA, discussed spreading awareness on how student groups can get involved in the Homecoming parade during its meeting Wednesday night. “This year’s theme will be Creating Spartan Heros,” said Ellen Evans, RHA’s University Activity Board representative. Mathias Koller, adviser of the Homecoming Committee and Homecoming Court, said this years theme includes four new super heros, who “relate to what a real Spartan is.” “This year we want to make (a theme) that (students) can identify with,” Koller said. Homecoming Court is made up of 10 students who will represent the student body during Homecoming week, said RHA President Zachary DeRade, who is also part of the court. This year’s theme is also will feature MSU alumnus and Chief Creative Officer of DC Entertainment Geoff Johns as grand marshall. Homecoming will take place the week of Oct.
Faculty weighed in on what qualities the next MSU provost should have at an open forum on Tuesday, saying that the provost should have strong ties to the university while balancing diversity and inclusion.
Greek letters and signs are everywhere around campus with Rush week kicking off, but not all the pledges will be flocking to the major fraternities and sororities. Special education junior Manisha Manchanda is one student who elected to steer away from the stereotypical “sorority girl” image and join a multicultural sorority. “What I like best is that everyone respects … that we all grew up in different parts of the world,” said Manchanda, who is a member of Sigma Sigma Rho, a traditional Southern Asian sorority.
A few days after the Navy Yard shootings, a presentation on how to handle a gunman in a classroom might have brought up more questions than answers at a Faculty Senate meeting on Tuesday.od The presentation focused on the resources available to faculty that would help them prepare for situations involving violence in classrooms. “It’s a suspect using a weapon in an ongoing assault, this would not be a barricaded gunman as we more commonly know from news and media,” MSU police Capt.
A spring and summer of struggle on parts of MSU’s undergraduate student government, ASMSU, still did not manage to gain enough student attention. Very few students know what their student government has been going through, let alone that they do have a student government.
A record number of students at MSU has put a strain on the university, but the plan is to reduce the total in the future.
For some, America is known for big cities, flashy celebrities and well-known universities and for many international college students, MSU opens a new way of life.
MSU has received a $10 million grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, to improve food policy in developing countries. The grant is part of the federal government’s global hunger and food security initiative, Feed the Future. Co-director of MSU Food Security Group and project leader Duncan Boughton said in a statement that he hoped the funds could reduce poverty and improve nutritional outcomes across the globe. “We will work with governments, researchers and private sector stakeholders in Africa, Asia and Latin America to increase agricultural productivity, improve dietary diversity and build greater resilience to challenges, like climate change, that affect livelihoods,” he said.
A host of topics were addressed at the MSU Board of Trustees meeting on Friday, but the most controversial issue brought up was one the trustees didn’t say a word about.
As part of the lifelong Spartan experience, ASMSU, MSU’s undergraduate student government, has been keen on maintaining school spirit by hosting tailgates at the tennis courts in South Neighborhood every home game. Anna Hogg, ASMSU director of marketing, noticed there were more students joining the tailgate on Saturday than on the two previous tailgates. “I think (the numbers) are growing the more we get the word out there,” Hogg said.
Additional moves in the case of professor William Penn and potential solutions to preventing future similar issues were the subject of discussion at the MSU Board of Trustees meeting Friday.
Preliminary numbers on MSU’s fall enrollment will come to light Friday at the MSU Board of Trustees meeting and will reveal how the university did in terms of admissions goals.
A bill passed Thursday evening at an ASMSU committee meeting to allow the undergraduate student government to advocate for flexible housing for freshmen. Flexible housing would allow students to freely choose their roommate, regardless of their gender. “The idea is to create a safe environment (for freshmen), it’s basically a floor that would be safe and accepting for students. That’s the goal,” social relations and policy sophomore Colin Wiebrecht said.
Rain or shine, the Spartan fraternities and sororities held their ground. Despite Mother Nature’s temporary rain storm, the Go Greek! BBQ brought in hundreds of students who were interested in entering MSU’s greek system. To keep things a welcoming and neutral environment, students who already are members of the greek system wore a uniform green MSU greek shirt so new and interested students could get a feel of the entire organization, not keying in on specific sororities and fraternities.
Earning tenure takes a long time — so does losing it.
It might not be basic training, but Wednesday at Demonstration Hall, students and residents of East Lansing got a glimpse into the life of an ROTC cadet. As part of the One Book, One Community program, students and residents participated in Boot Camp 101. The One Book, One Community novel this year was “The Yellow Birds” by Iraq veteran Kevin Powers, which highlights the lives of two soldiers in Iraq. As part of Boot Camp 101, students and residents could observe the sleeping quarters of a solider at war, try a push-up and sit-up competition, go on a rope course or see a live action drill.
In what appears to be an on-going effort to bring all student governments under its umbrella, MSU has requested of the Council for Graduate Students, or COGS, to go through a reorganization process to align with the university’s policies, including moving funds to an on-campus account.
College of Natural Science’s new research using a drone aircraft might help farmers improve crop yields. Associate professor of geological sciences Bruno Basso said the drone’s system has sensors powerful enough to detect which plants on a farm are experiencing nutrient deficiency or water stress.