Tuesday, October 22, 2024

Take a peek behind the curtain and test drive the NEW StateNews.com today!

News | Msu

MSU

300 volunteers to flush Spartan Stadium toilets

Nick Pelton
July 12, 2005

In the middle of August, 300 volunteers will enter every bathroom in the new Spartan Stadium to simultaneously flush every toilet and turn on every faucet. This test, called a "super flush," is to make sure the plumbing can handle an entire stadium full of spectators using the facilities. It has been standard practice to test new structures ever since Notre Dame's newly renovated stadium flooded during its first game in 1997, MSU Associate Director for Media Relations John Lewandowski said. During Notre Dame's home opener against Georgia Tech, the plumbing could not take the overwhelming needs of the crowd, causing the stadium's concourses to flood; thus the concession stands could no longer sell beverages, he said. It occurred during a television time-out as fans flocked to the bathrooms. The stadium's plumbing and the super flush are being coordinated by Keebler Plumbing & Heating in Lansing. The super flush will make sure the new plumbing can handle the demands of the new stadium, Lewandowski said. "They're trying to simulate a halftime," he said.

MSU

Dig's findings shown to public

Bob Darrow
July 11, 2005

Members of the general public had a unique opportunity last weekend to get a glimpse at what life was like inside the first dorm on campus - a glimpse that, until recently, was buried underground. For the past five weeks, MSU students and archaeologists have been excavating the site of Dormitory #1, nicknamed Saints' Rest by its residents.

MSU

Restoring history

Bob Darrow
July 7, 2005

Students and researchers excavating the site of MSU's first dorm might have uncovered a link to the fire that destroyed the building - a trowel found in the dorm's basement. In December 1876, the student residents of Saints' Rest had left for winter break, and the only people in the building were a group of workmen doing grouting in the basement.

MSU

Board to set tuition rates for 2005-06 at July meeting

Amy Davis
July 7, 2005

MSU students will have to wait a few weeks longer than in previous years to receive their tuition bills for the upcoming school year. As tuition for the 2005-06 school year hinges on the authorization of the Legislature's state higher-education budget, the MSU Board of Trustees has delayed the process of setting tuition and sending out tuition bills until the university's state funding is certain. Last year, tuition rates were approved in late June, and students received their tuition electronically on July 23.

MSU

MSU server compromised

Amy Davis
July 5, 2005

The latest in a series of computer attacks within the MSU community has struck the Human Resources servers. On Friday, MSU officials sent an e-mail to some members of the MSU community informing them that two of the department's servers, which hold information such as social security numbers and personal home addresses, had been hacked into by an unknown attacker. Assistant Vice President for Human Resources Pamela Beemer sent an e-mail to notify the potentially affected people about the intrusion. The letter said someone attempted to gain unauthorized access to two MSU Human Resources servers between June 25 and 26.

MSU

MSU could renew energy campaign

Daniel Thai
June 30, 2005

Incoming freshmen are leaving their homes, but they might not have heard the advice to turn off the lights when they leave for the last time. With the influx of new faces, the Energy Subcommittee of the University Committee for a Sustainable Campus has discussed the prospects of rejuvenating a campaign to conserve energy on campus, subcommittee member Bob Ellerhorst said.

MSU

Prof. travels to India to aid

Bob Darrow
June 28, 2005

Six months after a tsunami devastated coastal areas of India, an MSU professor is planning to help victims of the disaster in the southern part of the country. Sam Varghese, a professor of animal science, will leave with his wife Alice on Friday for his second relief trip this year. He plans to be gone three months, and in that time he will run workshops in Trivandrum, India, to teach victims how to raise quail and other small animals for food and profit. Varghese spent a month during January and February in southern India giving aid to victims of the tsunami. "All I could do was go to the shelters, see these people and hand out cash," Varghese said of his previous trip. Varghese distributed $17,500 to victims and taught them about food safety during his month in the country. "It broke my heart to see this devastation, but God willing, I wanted to come back," he said. For his current trip, he raised $14,150 from departments at MSU and an additional $5,000 through Coturnix International Ministries Inc., a charitable organization founded and run by Varghese. On his last trip, he only received $250 in funding from MSU. Jeff Riedinger, dean of International Studies and Programs said the university is better positioned to support long-term development than short-term economic relief. He said he helped convene a meeting of MSU faculty and administrators to hear a proposal from Varghese. "He and a group of other MSU faculty were interested in following up on what MSU could do on a long-term basis," Riedinger said. International Studies and Programs contributed several thousand dollars to help fund Varghese's meeting with foreign aid officials, Riedinger said. The rest of the money donated by MSU was pooled from the Department of Animal Science, MSU Extension and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said Professor Karen Plaut, chairwoman of the Department of Animal Science. Varghese will use the money to buy baby chicks, feed, equipment and cages which will be donated to the residents he teaches. "Everything will be given to them free so they can get started," he said. Coturnix, a Japanese species of quail, are particularly well-suited for this project because they don't need much space, are cheap to raise and mature quickly, Varghese said. A coturnix can begin laying eggs in about 35 days after hatching, he said, and can lay between 250-300 eggs in a year. He said he will also be purchasing rabbits and possibly chickens, which can be sold for their meat.

MSU

Soybean rust might infect Mich. plants

Daniel Thai
June 28, 2005

A fungal disease that kills one of Michigan's largest crops has been found recently in the Southeast, but Michigan growers and MSU are preparing for the possibility of the fungus spreading. Asian soybean rust has been found in Asia and South America for decades, the infection spread to five counties in Florida and one in Georgia, Department of Plant Pathology Chairman Ray Hammerschmidt said. On campus, there's a lab dedicated to identifying plant diseases, including soybean rust, he said. Hammerschmidt said soybean growers can bring their plants to MSU's Diagnostic Services in the Center for Integrated Plant Systems if they think the rust has infected their plants, but he added that there haven't been any reports of rust in Michigan. "But we are probably more prepared for this disease than any plant disease in history," he said. Growers in Michigan dedicate more than 2 million acres to soybean plots as part of a very large industry in the state, Hammerschmidt said. Soy, because of its high protein and calcium, commonly replaces milk in dairy products. Organic food store Foods for Living, 2655 E.

MSU

Lyman Briggs to renovate building for more students

Lindsey Poisson
June 28, 2005

A week ago, the basement of Holmes Hall was a maze of ripped-out floors, exposed ceilings, hanging wires and gaping holes in the walls. The Lyman Briggs School is renovating laboratories and offices in a two-phase project that will accommodate a predicted increase in student enrollment during the next five years. There will be one physics, four biology and two chemistry labs when construction is completed, said Steven Spees, associate director of the Lyman Briggs School and chemistry professor. "They're expanding the laboratories, adding more equipment and modernizing it," said Richard Bellon, visiting assistant professor for Lyman Briggs. All the labs will be air-conditioned, which costs the most of all the renovations to install, Spees said. "We're adding a lot of labs that require air flow," he said.

MSU

Hudzik finishes duties, ready for next post

Amy Davis
June 27, 2005

John Hudzik said his time served as MSU's acting provost has been both interesting and challenging, but there's one thing he won't miss about the job - the frequent 15-hour workdays. As acting provost, Hudzik took over the role once held by President Lou Anna K.

MSU

MSU: Rep. needed on state budget committee

Amy Davis
June 23, 2005

Members of the state House of Representatives and the Senate will soon meet with Gov. Jennifer Granholm in a conference committee to compromise on three proposed methods to fund the state's 15 public universities. But some MSU officials said past committees have been biased, and universities with members on the committees have received higher portions of the state's budget. For more than 30 years, many public universities in Michigan have been funded in ways that did not reflect their enrollment levels or the costs of academic programs, said Steve Webster, MSU's vice president for governmental affairs. Whoever controls the politics of the committee controls the direction of university funding, he said. As a result, Webster said there is a significant disparity in the per-student funding of universities across the state. MSU is funded at about $1,400 less per student than other research universities in the state.

MSU

Olin offers free HIV testing to community

Lindsey Poisson
June 21, 2005

Olin Health Center and other local clinics will hold free and anonymous walk-in HIV testing for the MSU community for the National HIV Testing Day on Monday. Nicolle Stec, health educator for the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Olin, said it's an opportunity to educate people about HIV and options that are available for testing and counseling. During pre-test consultation, counselors at Olin will determine whether the patient should have a blood or an oral swab test.

MSU

MSU works on robotic arm for breast exams

Daniel Thai
June 21, 2005

A robotic arm might replace doctors' hands in future breast exams. MSU's Department of Surgery and researchers in the College of Engineering are working together to develop a robotic arm that could give women living in remote areas access to breast exams. The technology is called telemedicine because examinations will occur over long distances, but human doctors will still play a significant role in the exam, said Ranjan Mukherjee, associate professor of mechanical engineering, who is leading the team building the arm. "It shouldn't sound like robots are doing it alone because that's not what it is," he said.

MSU

MSU to admit fewer freshmen in fall '05

Jason Worthy
June 20, 2005

This year's incoming freshman class will be slightly smaller than last year, according to admission rates so far, but a smaller class doesn't mean it will be less diverse. Jim Cotter, senior associate director in the Office of Admissions and Scholarships, said they are confident the freshman class will be more diverse than last year. "I feel more students now look to MSU for diversity," he said.

MSU

MSU approves interim budget for 2005-06

Amy Davis
June 20, 2005

An interim budget for the 2005-06 academic school year was approved Friday by the MSU Board of Trustees. The board voted to permit the operation of the university at its 2004-05 budget expenditure levels until next year's budgets have been established. Last year, the 2004-05 budget and tuition rates, which included a 2.4-percent hike for in-state students and a 5-percent increase for out-of-state students, were established at the board's June meeting.

MSU

Student charged with sex crimes

Kris Turner
June 20, 2005

An MSU international graduate student was arrested by Michigan State Police on charges relating to third degree criminal sexual conduct on Wednesday. Luabeya Kapiamba, a 37-year-old male agricultural economics graduate student, was charged with having multiple sexual encounters with a 15-year-old Washtenaw County female, police said. The Congo, Africa, native was arraigned in a Washtenaw County district court on three counts of criminal sexual conduct on Thursday, police said.