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MSU

WEB ONLY: Local temple celebrates Hindu holiday

Sonia Khaleel  and  Roneisha Mullen
October 22, 2004

Worshippers celebrated the Hindu holiday Navaratra Dashara by praising the goddesses Durga and Saraswati with spiritual dancing and songs Thursday at the Bharatiya Temple of Lansing, 955 Haslett Road. "The holiday is recognized to represent the power of femininity," said participant and temple member Dr. Sripada Raju. Worshippers celebrated Durga's victory over evil with spiritual dance and songs. One MSU student celebrated by fasting. "It helped me focus," mathematics senior Tejal Patel said.

MSU

'Room4U' makeover show premieres

Maddie Trier
October 22, 2004

A blue denim slip-covered couch accompanied by three seats - two red and orange dotted dish chairs and one black and purple shoe-shaped chair - fill the living room of a West Akers Hall suite. A light wood and steel entertainment center stands in front, next to a floor-to-ceiling, white-board paneled wall.

MSU

RHA donation to provide free Night Owl bus rides

Students now will have a free ride at night to get anywhere on campus. The Residence Halls Association is funding the Capital Area Transportation Authority's Night Owl service in an effort to keep students from walking alone at night. The service picks up and drops off students anywhere on campus between 2 a.m.-7 a.m.

MSU

College reorganization plans still on the way

Rebecca Mcnulty
October 21, 2004

Despite missing final report deadlines, university officials say they are hopeful the Committee on College Reorganization and the New Residential College Program Planning Committee will have reports complete in the next several weeks.

MSU

Law school to host national trial contest

Margaret Harding
October 21, 2004

The future of a heart attack victim's insurance policy will be decided this weekend in the MSU College of Law building - at least 30 different times. Starting today, the law school is hosting the National Trial Advocacy Competition, a three-day tournament that pits 20 teams of four law school students from universities across the nation against each other in three rounds of competition. "This is a way to get students ready for real life practice," said Sara Presler-Hoefle, the National Trial Advocacy Competition director.

MSU

Women look to mace for protection

Even though carrying pepper spray doesn't automatically mean she'll be safe in the event of a sexual assault, Kathy Freel said having it with her makes her feel safer. "I grew up with the Boy Scout motto - be prepared," said Freel, a third-year MSU College of Law student.

MSU

Groups encourage fair trade

Sonia Khaleel
October 20, 2004

A visit from two Mexican coffee farmers Tuesday helped some MSU students explain why it's important to make fair trade coffee available in campus cafeterias. The speakers, Jose Vasquez, president of the Las Abejas Civil Society, and Macario Arias Gomez, president of the Maya Vinic Coffee Cooperative, which is part of the society, spoke of hardships they faced growing coffee beans in Chiapas, Mexico before organizing into cooperatives and selling to fair trade companies in the United States, Canada, Japan and Switzerland. "We are organizing as a cooperative so that we can organize and work toward a better life," Vasquez said. In the mid-'90s, the Mexican government wanted to take the coffee farmers' communal land and sell it to private oil and timber companies, but the farmers peacefully protested.

MSU

Campus safety bill drafted

ASMSU officials said they are concerned with campus safety because of the recent sexual assaults on campus, so much so they wrote a bill to increase lighting and emergency phones on campus. The bill, written in the middle of its Student Assembly meeting Thursday, advocates for a safer campus and to support the Residence Halls Association's safety report issued last year. "One incident near the tennis courts, and tailgates are changed," said Derek Wallbank, a representative for the Council for Students with Disabilities.

MSU

Olin to provide cold, flu packs

Maddie Trier
October 19, 2004

With cold and flu season underway, and only about two-thirds of the flu vaccine expected to be available nationally, Olin Health Center officials are scurrying to provide this year's cold and flu kits. Jon Kermiet, an Olin Health Educator, said students will need to pay more attention to their hygiene practices this year to prevent sickness because the flu shot will not be made available to them. According to the 2004 National College Health Assessment, 82.3 percent of students contracted the cold or flu.

MSU

Jewish studies films show Israeli culture

Maddie Trier
October 18, 2004

The Jewish Studies Program is showing \"Desperado Square\" at 7:30 p.m. Monday in 147 Communication Arts and Sciences Bldg. Ellen Rothfeld, an MSU Hebrew lecturer, will introduce the film. Rothfeld said the purpose of the film series, which is in Hebrew, is to introduce students to the Israeli culture. \"Most of these films are not religious oriented, it\'s more the culture, although of course most of Israel is Jewish,\" Rothfeld said. The other film in the series, \"Broken Wings,\" will be shown at 7:30 p.m.

MSU

Student government stands against gay marriage proposal

ASMSU has taken a stand on the proposal to ban gay marriage and it's in resounding opposition. MSU's undergraduate student government's Student Assembly passed a bill Thursday night to make a public statement against Proposal 2, which would amend Michigan's Constitution to recognize marriage as a union between a man and woman. The assembly debated for more than an hour about the proposal and whether ASMSU has the right to chime in on what has been called rigidly partisan. "ASMSU needs to act on this," said Derek Wallbank, representative for the Council for Students with Disabilities.

MSU

McPherson commits to provide African aid

Jaclyn Roeschke
October 18, 2004

MSU President M. Peter McPherson and Alpha Oumar Konare, head of the African Union, have called for a generation-long commitment to Africa - a continent both leaders said is crying out for help. At the annual meeting of the World Food Prize Foundation in Des Moines, Iowa, McPherson announced that he and Konare will work together on the project, called \"Partnership with Africa.\" McPherson said short-term emergency support offered by the United States is not enough to help improve the security, finance, technology and infrastructure challenges Africa is currently facing.