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MSU

MSU offers templates for faculty, student Web sites

Kristi Jourdan
April 17, 2007

A new university-sponsored online guide for creating Web sites could make it easier for MSU faculty, staff and students to build pages for departments and class projects. After the university's home page was redesigned a year ago, many faculty and staff members expressed a desire to update their respective Web sites and requested resources from MSU's Web Team. "Sometimes, different places on campus may have a one-issue event they'd like to get a quick Web site up for," said Jeane Marty, a Web developer for University Relations.

MSU

Club teaches plow basics

By Summi Gambhir For The State News About a dozen MSU students got some firsthand experience with horse-driven farming techniques at the fourth annual Plow Day on Saturday. The event, organized by the MSU Driving Club, gave students a chance to dirty their hands as they plowed two fields east of the Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education with experienced farmers in order to learn the finer skills of using traditional farm equipment. Rachel Meyer, an animal science junior, was excited to try her hand at managing the horses and a manual plow with her friends. "An experienced farmer can do this alone, but we are still learning," said Meyer, who also is the president of the club. Russ Erickson, a retired professor of dairy nutrition, started the draft horse class about seven years ago to "teach students about the pulling power of draft horses and manual plowing." The club grew out of the program. "It was hard to provide this kind of experience in class otherwise," Erickson said. Aimed at promoting the draft horse industry, the club now boasts five horses.

MSU

Fashion revived

Thea Neal
April 16, 2007

Diane Hoskins is in the "smuggling business." Or so she pretends. The Coldwater, Mich., resident acted as a look-out for the Underground Railroad, ensuring that escaped slaves had a way to get to Canada.

MSU

Diverse religious views explored

Michelle Ortlieb
April 16, 2007

People sometimes say religion is a topic to avoid when talking with friends, but the MSU Wesley Foundation encouraged just this type of discussion Saturday. The group invited other religious organizations on campus to an event called Hoopla to promote understanding and acceptance between the groups. "We're not here to say who's right or who's wrong," said Tim Tuthill, a Mason resident and the campus minister at University United Methodist Church.

MSU

Fashion police on campus

Thea Neal
April 13, 2007

Carol Beard often encourages her clients to come out of the closet. No, not that closet. For the past five years, Beard has worked as a closet analyst, weeding through clients' clothes, pitching unattractive pieces and replacing them with more appealing articles. But in her spare time, Beard acts as the adviser for the Student Apparel Design Association, or SADA, using her knowledge to help MSU students' fashion dreams become runway realities. Since January, Beard and SADA students have gathered to plan Fashion Week.

MSU

'Walk' donations raise concern

Joey Nowak
April 13, 2007

Members of PRISM, South Complex's lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender and straight alliance group, are concerned with the "I Stop Hate: MSU United" campaign for planning to donate a share of the proceeds from its Charity Walk on Sunday to the American Red Cross. PRISM member John Herbst said the American Red Cross discriminates against homosexual men. According to its Web site, the American Red Cross warns donors "should not give blood if you have AIDS or have ever had a positive HIV test, or if you have done something that puts you at risk for becoming infected with HIV." It also specifies: "You are at risk for getting infected if you … are a male who has had sexual contact with another male, even once, since 1977." "Since the American Red Cross does discriminate against people who would like to donate blood, we don't feel that's a suitable organization to donate to, coming from the 'I Stop Hate' campaign," Herbst said. Ann Kammerer, the American Red Cross' Great Lakes Region Blood Service Center spokeswoman, said the guideline applies to the "entire blood-banking community." "It's not a Red Cross policy," she said.

MSU

Religious group to hold 'Hoopla' event

Tara Thoel
April 13, 2007

Creating an understanding and respect for different world religions is what student members of the University United Methodist Church aim to accomplish Saturday. "In the news, you are always hearing about different religions disagreeing," said Amber Schultz, an event coordinator and education senior. Hoopla, which starts at 3:57 p.m.

MSU

Speaker to link Islam, hip-hop

Tara Thoel
April 12, 2007

Hip-hop died with 2Pac. At least, that is, by Hashim Alauddeen's definition of hip-hop. The music genre is supposed to be a form of resistance, speaking truth against injustice, said Alauddeen, a professor of African Diaspora studies at the Islamic Education Center in Houston. And the rapper 2Pac, or Tupac Amaru Shakur, represented that resistance — part of the legacy of Malcolm X, Alauddeen said. Since 2Pac's death in 1996 in Las Vegas, few mainstream hip-hop artists have followed this model, Alauddeen said. "There are still positive rappers, but they aren't mainstream, and that has to change," he said.

MSU

Lacrosse makes comeback

Sean Ely
April 12, 2007

Losing a big game early in a season may not seem like a very positive thing for a team, but certain squads bounce right back. The MSU men's club lacrosse team (7-1), after dropping its second game in Gainesville in early March, refused to let the loss column get any higher than one. The No.

MSU

Free film series addresses rape culture

Thea Neal
April 11, 2007

The Rape Culture Film Series will continue at 8 p.m. tonight at Wells Hall with "Rape Is …" The 30-minute movie discusses the consequences of rape and its status as the most underreported crime in the U.S. A second feature will be shown at 9 p.m.

MSU

Mich. colleges cover blogging

Sean Ely
April 11, 2007

The process of using Web logs, or blogs, started out as a way for people to express themselves to as wide an audience as would read them. Now it's hard to go to a major news or sports Web site without being able to easily access one of the writer's personal blogs. They're everywhere. A few colleges across Michigan incorporated blogging into their journalism programs, but professors at these schools realize the potential exists for a number of flaws to creep into any blogger's post. "Blogging offers an immediacy that print newspapers can't keep up with," MSU Editor in Residence Garry Gilbert said.

MSU

TV becomes interactive

Joey Nowak
April 11, 2007

Txt me @ the CW 2nite. Translation, please? Text me at The CW tonight. Two MSU students are making a splash in the broadcast world as hosts of The CW channel's "Text Me TV" program, which allows viewers to text message the show's hosts live. Viewers in the Lansing area can see the program nightly from 1:30-6 a.m.

MSU

Bookworms to reap rewards

Thea Neal
April 10, 2007

To some, spending more than $100 per month on books is a college obligation. But for classical studies senior Matt Chaldekas, it's an obsession. And Chaldekas used his book collection to pocket cash — $250 of it — at the 2006 MSU Student Book Collection Competition.

MSU

MSU, N-Viro fund eco-fuel

Brendan Bouffard
April 9, 2007

The T.B. Simon Power Plant on campus recently conducted an experiment using biosolid waste to generate electricity as an alternative to burning coal. The experiment was conducted by MSU and N-Viro International Corp., a company that works with recycling and alternative fuels. The power plant burned a mixture of biomass and coal in a standard boiler, generating enough electricity to power campus for two days. Burning the biomass and coal mixture yielded a similar energy output as burning coal.