New drone technology at MSU will prove useful for farmers and journalists alike. Associate professor of geological sciences Bruno Basso will be conducting a three-to-four year experiment using a drone to monitor crop fields, advancing MSU’s roots as an agricultural school with modern-day innovations.
Student athletes’ academic achievements became a point of pride for MSU after athletes received above-average academic scores across the board, officials said Tuesday. MSU’s athlete graduation rate is similar to that of the student body and is higher than the NCAA Division 1 average, said Michael Kasavana, MSU Athletic Council chair and professor of hospitality business, during a University Council meeting on Tuesday. The faculty-based athletic council evaluates student-athlete academic progress every semester. The university’s Academic Progress Report, or APR, scores, which measure eligibility, retention and graduation over a four-year period, are above the national median for every sport, Kasavana said.
ASMSU teamed up with Student Health Services and MSU Social Norms to campaign for medical amnesty awareness Tuesday afternoon outside Olin Health Center. The event, titled “Step up. Step in. Be a good Wingman!” was targeted to teach students about the positives of taking advantage of the Michigan law.
During the Iraq War, international relations senior Anas Attal never knew if the people he grew up with would still be alive the next day. Attal, who is originally from Syria, had a different experience of the war than many of his fellow students. He constantly feared for his family’s safety — his 10-year-old cousin had guns, knives and hand grenades as toys in order to protect his family.
Chaz Miles and the Ultimate Training Camp band rocked the Skandalaris Football Center Tuesday night, performing a Christian-themed mini-concert at the Athletes in Action, or AIA, weekly meeting. The Ultimate Training Camp, or UTC, band is composed of former student athletes from across the country and plays Christian-themed music. Spartan athletes gathered to watch as the five-member UTC band sang variations of old and new musical arrangements.
The Residence Halls Association, or RHA, has decided to shut down their five on-campus movie rental offices for the fall semester and hopes to get them up and running in spring 2013. RHA elected to close the movie rental offices for the fall to improve the system and give the program an overall makeover, said Greg Rokisky, RHA’s director of public relations. The movie rental service, which has been offered since 1992, had locations in Akers, Gilchrist, Holden and Mason halls, as well as Brody Complex. Rokisky said throughout the past two years, there have been several problems concerning the service. In the past few years the office directors were only trying to maintain the movie rental program, hurting the program’s advancement, he added. “The service was on and off for the past couple of years,” said Zachary DeRade, the RHA president.
Around 8:45 p.m. Monday, authorities responded to alarms at West Shaw Hall. A sprinkler system allegedly broke on the first floor causing minor flooding, firefighter paramedic Dan Sharp said.
A long-standing, unique MSU offering will come to a close in 2015.
Out of concern that ASMSU, MSU’s undergraduate student government, could have lost its autonomy to the university, a group of students are forming an independent student union, MSU Students United, aimed at representing the student body and advocating for their needs and demands.
Who would you do for a Klondike bar? Several bisexual students and supporters asked the question of passerby Monday as they took part in Celebrate Bisexuality Day. Held each year on Sept. 23, the international holiday attempts to raise awareness of bisexuality and remove stigmas and stereotypes often associated with the community.
MSU’s neighborhood engagement centers are hosting open houses to familiarize students with the resources available to them on campus. The open houses are set up like fairs, with food provided by Culinary Services, games and chances to win prizes. Participating students are given “passports,” which are a map of opportunities at the open house.
Kollaboration welcomed MSU students and the East Lansing community to showcase the talent of local Asian Americans through dancing, singing and other various performing arts Saturday. The event is a movement to promote the presence of Asian Americans in the entertainment and performing arts industries, local Kollaboration executive director Adam Lam said. Lam said it aims to launch a platform where artists and performers are given the chance to pursue their dreams while redefining the image of Asian Americans in entertainment.
With free, unlimited laundry services now offered on campus, Residence Education and Housing Services, or REHS, is upping the ante again with new technology to notify officials when the machines aren’t working. REHS collaborated with the laundry services company WASH during the summer to provide students with an app that would allow students to notify the company in case a washer or dryer has a defect. The idea received the support of the Residence Halls Association, or RHA, which is currently working on providing REHS with student feedback on the application, said RHA President Zachary DeRade.
Demolition of the Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies on the second floor of the Administration Building will begin this week, as part of renovations across campus. The MSU Board of Trustees recently approved a $500,600 contract to update the office suite. “We’re trying to improve all space on campus, including dormitories, classrooms, labs — it’s all part of making MSU a better place,” said Doug Gage, director of the Office of Interdisciplinary Research and Internal Grants.
After recently being named the No. 1 ranked supply chain management program in the country, a team of MSU supply chain students is taking its talents to the annual General Motors/Wayne State University Supply Chain Case Competition. MSU, along with 19 other competing universities from across the country, were invited to the weekend-long competition hosted at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, with the task of figuring out what kind of battery should be used for an ELR-extended-range electric vehicle and where the it should be placed for best performance. John Taylor, director of supply chain programs at Wayne State University, said the competition is designed to bring attention to careers in the auto industry supply chain. On Friday, teams will be divided into five regional groups and participate in a competition presenting their ideas. “The four regional winners are given a new competition twist Friday afternoon,” Taylor said.
ASMSU, MSU’s undergraduate student government, passed a bill Thursday night allowing the student government to sponsor the Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event. ASMSU will allocate $500 for the event, which is hosted by the MSU Panhellenic and Interfraternity councils on Oct. 5. “Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council are an important part of ASMSU, they’re always sitting in on our general assemblies, so it’s important that we support them,” said Teresa Bitner, vice president for internal administration.
While sitting around at a graduation party, physiology junior Tristan Worthington and his friends decided playing games with Nerf guns sounded fun. What started as a fun party activity has turned into a registered student organization on campus known as the MSU Assassins Club. Worthington was able to register the club in 2012, but not without some difficulties. Worthington said the organization ran into some speed bumps when it came to using Nerf guns on campus.
While Justin S. Morrill Hall is no longer around, the name still will linger over the new landscaped plaza that will be replacing the building. The MSU Board of Trustees approved the new nature area Justin S. Morrill Plaza at its meeting last Friday. The nature area is open for students to use, but small tasks such as planting trees still must be done.
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.