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News | Msu

MSU

Scouts help police with evacuation drill

With the help of visiting Boy Scouts, MSU police and the East Lansing Fire Department are making it their mission to "be prepared." More than 250 scouts volunteered Tuesday to participate in organized evacuations of the fourth floor of the Spartan Stadium's tower.

MSU

Program gives children opportunity to see plays

Dabbling in the arts, attending plays and watching concerts could become a more frequent option for children from low-income families, with a new Wharton Center program. The Seats 4 Kids scholarship program will provide tickets to Wharton Center shows through private donations for children who can't afford them, said Bob Hoffman, spokesman for the Wharton Center.

MSU

Professors find ways to predict student success

Grade-point averages and SAT scores can only do so much to predict student success at college. That's why two MSU professors researched other ways to anticipate how student life beyond the books plays into college performance. After looking at students' interests, background experiences and motivational characteristics from 10 universities during a four-year period, psychology professors Neal Schmitt, Frederick Oswald and a team of undergraduate and graduate students found predictors for student potential, including their likeliness to cheat, drop out of school and attend classes regularly. The College Board approached Schmitt and Oswald about conducting the study, which it plans to use to enhance college admissions.

MSU

MSU to teach graphic media

After the planes crashed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, a graphic appeared in the New York Times showing where they hit and which floors were damaged.

MSU

Insect introduction

Devon Dine's arm went stiff and his eyes widened as he watched the Vietnamese walkingstick wrap its six legs around his hand and crawl up his arm.

MSU

Having a ball

Clarkston High School sophomore Allie Brown dashed up the right side of Old College Field on Wednesday, yelling for her teammates' attention as she passed the ball to her fellow players on team Spain. Challenging team England for the MSU Spartan Soccer Camp's world cup playoffs, Brown and her team were wrapping up a three-day stay on campus — usually filled with drills, scrimmages and living like a college student in Wonders and Wilson halls. MSU women's soccer head coach Tom Saxton said the campus, which has welcomed about 980 girls and boys during four weeks of camp, is one of the things the camp-goers enjoy most. "We have really beautiful fields, and being on a college campus makes them feel like an adult," he said. Associate director of athletics Karen Langeland said Wednesday was the last day for any sports camp at MSU, which has held camps for 17 different sports — including soccer, cross country and diving — during a six-week period of time. This summer 8,654 kids, mostly between the ages 10 and 16, visited campus for various camps, a figure that is down a couple hundred from last year, she said.

MSU

University to dedicate collection to couple

The vibrant orange, yellow and red daylilies outside of the MSU Main Library represent more than just an addition to the Beal Botanical Garden. The Jean and Alfred Goldner Hybrid Daylily Collection is a small token of thanks for the $1 million-1.5 million endowment for the gardens. The final amount of the endowment depends on the sale of a plot of land from the Goldner family, said Frank Telewski, professor of plant biology and curator of the garden. Alfred Goldner, a 1941 MSU graduate, passed away in the fall of 2003, leaving one of his farms for the university to sell so that an endowment for the garden could be set up as he and his wife, Jean Goldner, had planned to do. Alfred Goldner's personal work has left a mark on horticulture, with the creation of more than 50 hybrid plants and the introduction of exotic plants to the landscape architecture field, Telewski said. Alfred Goldner took a special pleasure with the daylilies.

MSU

Efforts to oust MSU law dean continue

Debate as to whether MSU administrators can override strides by tenured faculty of the MSU College of Law to remove Dean Terence Blackburn continue, while some say the problem reveals a broader struggle about conflicting policies between the law college and the university. A majority of the tenured faculty members at the law college submitted a statement of objection in April to Provost Kim Wilcox saying Blackburn should be removed from his position as dean.

MSU

Outside the box

Hickory Corners — The large manor overlooking Gull Lake appeared even more extravagant with the extensive gardens surrounding it in full bloom.

MSU

Karate group turns 30

A karate instructor called out and a group of children quickly formed a circle around the smallest boy, towering over him at twice his size.

MSU

MSU researches plant bacterial disease

Crop damage due to plant diseases could be minimized after MSU researchers discovered how one disease attacks crops. MSU researchers have been studying a bacterial disease that has been affecting tomato crops across the country and has caused serious crop loss in recent years. The researchers discovered how the disease destroys the plants and compared it to the way a disease attacks a human. "Through our research, we have discovered that the pathogen is actually attacking the plant's defense mechanism," said Sheng Yang He, an MSU professor of plant biology, plant pathology and microbiology and molecular genetics and head researcher in the study.

MSU

Dairy event educates children

Sam Moreno slowly scooted away from the large dairy cow he had just finished milking. The 8-year-old Lansing resident is not used to being around livestock but said he enjoyed the experience of milking a cow Wednesday at the Great Dairy Adventure during the 10th annual Michigan Dairy Expo. "It was fun," Sam said.

MSU

MSU aims to acquire research building

MSU may purchase property located about a mile and a half away from campus near Grand River Avenue because of a growing need for research space. The building could provide several colleges with additional space to conduct laboratory and classroom research for both faculty and students, said George Benson, executive director of the MSU Foundation. The two-story building, owned by the Huntsman Corp., is located at 4917 Dawn Ave., near Paul Revere's Tavern, 2703 E.