Area emergency responders prepared for the possibility of a train derailment on campus Wednesday, even though officials agreed it would be an unlikely event. "The chances of a train derailment with the release of chemicals is the same as if you have a child play in the NFL," said Joe Tupa, a manager with hazardous materials and field services for CSX Corp.
As president of Bombsquad Productions, Meagan Mason frequently answers the same questions about the student group. "'What is Bombsquad?
In an effort to provide more cultural opportunities during MSU's homecoming festivities, the Black Student Alliance, or BSA, and the African American Celebratory are holding several events this week. The festivities, called the African American Homecoming, will include events such as discussions, a jazz night and a semiformal dance. The theme for the week is "98/89", which represents the 98 years since Myrtle Craig became the first black female graduate of Michigan Agricultural College — MSU's former name — in 1907. It also represents the May 1989 study-in, when several black students took over the Administration Building for 10 days to present administrators with a list of 36 demands pertaining to racial incidents on campus, history senior and BSA member at large Geneva Thomas said. Many black students frequently return home on weekends or attend other university homecoming events at other schools, such as Howard University in Washington, D.C., Thomas said. "People go home every weekend, and homecoming is not an exception," she said.
During the summer, MSU computing officials installed about 300 wireless access points in campus buildings. Now, there are about 500 total wireless access points in 40 buildings around campus. "We went nuts this summer," said Tom Davis, director of Academic Computing & Network Services.
The heated discussions that ensued during Tuesday's Faculty Council meeting were the best Dan Barnhizer said he has ever witnessed. "This is the most debate I have seen on any issue," said Barnhizer, an adjunct associate professor with the MSU College of Law. Back-and-forth debates took up the majority of the time at the meeting, which dealt with the composition and voting rights of the Faculty Voice task forces — based off the report of the same name. The Faculty Voice report, written last year, looked at concerns regarding the lack of faculty involvement in university decisions.
At their retreat last weekend, ASMSU members discussed ideas for working on problems they deemed "hot issues" for students. Members talked about adding specific criteria to professors' policies on canceling class in bad weather, said Robert Murphy, ASMSU's Academic Assembly chairperson. "Sometimes the university remains open when it's dangerous for it to do so," Murphy said. Representatives also are interested in adding a fall break to the university schedule, he said.
MSU's sesquicentennial, a 16-month-long celebration of the university's 150th anniversary, has left its mark on this year's homecoming festivities. The sesquicentennial committee has revived another campus tradition for homecoming week — a bonfire for students and community members — and the Oct.
Four days a week, three or more students spend five hours in a small room in the Main Library, waiting to accompany students who want to be walked home. But in the last few years, not many students have come. Alpha Phi Omega, a coed service fraternity, created StateWalk more than 15 years ago to offer a safe alternative to walking home alone late at night. The fraternity regained control of StateWalk in 2002, after the program had spent more than a decade under the Residence Halls Association.
Community members will have the opportunity to tour MSU's campus from a seat on a bale of hay this evening. "Hayrides and History," an annual tradition teaching facts and trivia about MSU's history, kicks off a variety of campus activities planned for homecoming week. The hayrides will include complimentary hot chocolate, kettle corn and other giveaways. The event, sponsored by the University Activities Board, begins at 6:15 p.m.
A recently released study suggests women, in particular those in their late teens and early 20s, experiment more and are more open about same-sex encounters than men. According to the survey, which was conducted in 2002 but released this year by the Centers for Disease Control's National Center for Health Statistics, 11.5 percent of the 7,643 women ages 18 to 44 who were interviewed said they have had at least one sexual experience with another woman. Among those surveyed were 4,923 men, and 6 percent in their late teens and 20s said they have had a same-sex encounter. The CDC used 12,571 in-person interviews, and all participants volunteered and used audio and computer-assisted, self-interviewing. Sociology graduate student Julie Hartman said the numbers exhibited for men indicate a large social trend that is occurring. "I would hope that over time, men will be able to express themselves the same and have the same freedom," she said.
By Nicholas Richer Special to The State News Clear skies and falling leaves greeted 194 runners and walkers who raced through campus on Saturday morning to raise money for a tri-county homeless teen shelter. The eighth annual Pi Mile, a 5K race sponsored by Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity, raised about $2,500 for Gateway Community Services of East Lansing, which offers a crisis intervention center and homeless shelter for teenagers. "We realized they really need the help," said Brooke Bator, co-chairman of Phi Sigma Pi's service committee and a Spanish senior.
MSU Career Services and Placement will hold the 2005 Agriculture Career Fair on Tuesday in Big Ten Room A of the Kellogg Center. The fair is open to the public and runs from 6-9 p.m.
By Liz Kersjes Special to The State News Dell Inc. and the state of Michigan teamed up to host a statewide computer-recycling event aimed to help protect the environment from dangerous waste on Saturday. "We created a partnership with the state for consumers to recycle their old computers," said Bryant Hilton, public relations manager with Dell.
Black Student Alliance, or BSA, and African American Celebratory will be holding several events next week to coincide with MSU's homecoming. The alternate festivities, called the African-American Homecoming, will include events such as discussions and a screening of a film about a 1989 "study-in" protest by black students in front of the Administration Building for seven days, a jazz night and a semiformal dance. The theme for the week is "98/89," which represents the 98 years since Myrtle Craig became the first black female graduate of Michigan Agricultural College (MSU's former name) in 1907 and the year the study-in took place, history senior and BSA member Geneva Thomas said. Here's what is happening: Today: Film classics by playwright and actor Tyler Perry at 7 p.m.
In honor of World Food Day on Sunday, a teleconference addressing why hunger still exists despite 60 years of United Nations' efforts to combat it will be broadcast on campus today. The teleconference, which will be aired at noon in Room 303 of the International Center, will feature author Frances Moore Lappé as this year's keynote speaker, and her speech will be broadcast across the nation. MSU's Center for Advanced Study of International Development works with World Food Day programs on campus every year, said Pamela Galbraith, acting outreach coordinator for the teleconference. "We try to promote awareness of international issues, and this is certainly something that's worthwhile," Galbraith said. This year's theme, "Roads not Taken; Goals not Met; the Journey Ahead," also addresses how UN efforts can improve, Galbraith said. World Food Day signifies the founding of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization in 1945.
As a collaboration between Olin Health Center, Healthy U and the IM Sports system, a new Web site has been launched to promote exercise and nutrition for members of the MSU community. The Web site offers links to physical activity programs and events that are occurring not only on MSU's campus, but also in the East Lansing community, said Healthy U coordinator Nancy Allen.
Next year, the MSU Symphony Orchestra is planning to pay tribute to Mozart in the Austrian cities the world-famous composer called home. The orchestra will play concerts in Vienna and Salzburg in 2006 as part of the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birthday. MSU President Lou Anna K.
ASMSU member Melissa Horste said she plans to work with East Lansing and MSU police officers to reschedule a meeting for students to come and discuss issues with police after low publicity generated a weak turnout on Wednesday. Five officers from the East Lansing and MSU police departments went to the Communication Arts and Sciences Building on Wednesday night to hear students' concerns, but no students came to ask questions. The only students present were Horste, director of community affairs for ASMSU's Student Assembly — who helped coordinate the event — and journalism junior Kevin Lehman, who was covering the event for a class. Horste said she hoped the reason no one came was because there wasn't enough advertising for the meeting. East Lansing police Chief Tom Wibert and Horste discussed having a meeting in Wonders Hall and offering refreshments next time. "We'll learn from this," Horste said.
Members of the Residence Halls Association held a question-and-answer session with Provost Kim Wilcox and planned to elect a new vice president at its meeting Wednesday. It was the first time Wilcox was back in Holmes Hall, where the meeting was held, since he was a student at MSU in 1976. "(Wilcox) has not been a presenter before," RHA President Kevin Newman said.
When Kristina Leonardi hears commotion outside her third-floor door in West McDonel Hall on a Tuesday or Thursday evening, she knows it's dinnertime. The criminal justice and Spanish senior is a resident of the La Casa residential program — which means "the house" in Spanish.