Two innovative Spanish artists and politicians are the topic of discussion this Wednesday. Chad Gasta, assistant professor of Hispanic studies at Iowa State University, will speak at 7 p.m.
A film documenting the life and career of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon will be shown today at 7:30 p.m.
In just two months, international relations senior Kevin Penzien will be surrounded by foreign culture and living with a family he doesn't know more than 5,500 miles from his East Lansing home.But he's not nervous - he's looking forward to it.After graduating in December, Penzien will travel to Brazil for a year to work at the Student Center language school teaching English to the families and employees of a pulp and paper factory located near the Brazilian city of Bahia.
Four groups hosted a conference this weekend to inform the public about the Free Trade Area of the Americas trade agreement and its possible consequences. The "NO WAY FTAA!
MSU President M. Peter McPherson will address the financial state of the university in light of the state's $900 million budget shortfall when he presents to the Academic Council on Tuesday. University spokesman Terry Denbow said putting MSU's budget in the context of the state budget shortfall is essential. "It's important for him to report to the university and say where we stand, and what we should expect in the months ahead," he said. Jon Sticklen, chairman of the Executive Committee of Academic Council, said no one in the MSU community is expecting the definitive word on what will happen. "What is clear is that there will be another budget problem," Sticklen said.
A new MSU program will teach aspiring politicians about the process of running for office. The program, "Tomorrow's Political Leaders," will be offered by MSU's Institute for Public Policy and Social Research and is geared toward recent graduates and upperclassmen who are about to enter Michigan's work force. Institute project manager Brian McGrain said the two-week program is very competitive, and officials will only accept about 30 percent of its applicants. "It's a necessity for anyone who's young and wants to get involved with politics," McGrain said.
ASMSU officials are considering next week a statement denouncing the circulation of explicit anti-University of Michigan T-shirts and fliers. The public statement would not be made until the week after the football game. A bill was sent to both assemblies of MSU's undergraduate student government to make a statement against a flier distributed across campus last week that bore the phrase "Wolverines Pack Fudge" above an explicit drawing as an advertisement for T-shirts bearing the same image. "We support diversity on campus," Student Assembly Vice Chairperson for Internal Affairs Andrew Schepers said at the Academic Assembly meeting Tuesday night.
Sen. Virg Bernero, D-Lansing, might be the deciding factor in whether the Senate Republican leaders choose to try to override an abortion bill veto.Senate Bill 395, better known as the legal birth definition act, defines exactly when a person is born as "when any portion of a human being has been vaginally delivered outside his or her mother's body." Partial-birth abortion would be considered illegal in Michigan under this bill.If Bernero is elected as the next mayor of Lansing in November, he will step down from his seat in the state Senate, leaving 37 members rather than the usual 38.With Bernero gone, the number of votes needed to override Gov.
More than 25 members of the MSU debate team spend countless hours each week perusing textbooks in the corridors of Linton Hall to research arguments for their next great debate.The team will travel to Harvard University this weekend for its fifth tournament, this time against 70 other schools."Our goal is to have as many two-person teams advance to the final round of tournaments on Monday (as possible)," said Will Repko, one of the debate coaches.Repko said the team did well at their last tournament in Washington, D.C."Even our first-year students had a strong showing," he said.Each debate season, a new topic for each team to discuss is chosen.
Students in the MSU Department of Psychology are developing a personality-based addition to the SAT to more accurately match incoming students with colleges. The College Success Project, now in its third year, is funded with about $300,000 from the College Board, the distributors of the SAT. Psychology Professor Neal Schmitt, who leads the project with nine other student researchers, said the two-section multiple choice test aims to boil down a student's personality into a numerical score. The first section, a biographical data test, asks students about high school experiences, including extra-curricular activities, sports, clubs and leadership roles held by students. The second section is a situational judgment test, which gives students hypothetical situations and allows them to choose a course of action. Psychology graduate student Alyssa Friede said the test also will help gauge how well a student might perform in college. "Some people feel the SAT and ACT don't give a sense of who they are," Friede said.
When Katharine Sophiea found out she had been nominated to receive a Rhodes scholarship, her dad was ecstatic."I think he told just about everyone in the state of Michigan about it," said Sophiea, an English and education senior, who also holds a degree in social relations.Sophiea is one of eight MSU students who were nominated for three prestigious international awards - the Rhodes, Mitchell and Marshall scholarships.
Students have unpacked their coats and mittens to prepare for the upcoming winter, but the Spartan statue has no such outerwear to protect him from the Michigan elements - yet. The 9-foot-7-inch tall terra-cotta clay statue soon will reside in heated comfort inside the addition to Spartan Stadium in 2005.
Members from the Muslim Students' Association are in the International Center this week educating passing students and visitors about the Islamic faith for Islam Awareness Week.Interest in the week, which began on Monday and runs until Friday, has grown in past years.
The African Studies Center will sponsor two discussion events this week. Ph.D. Research Fellow Poul Wiseborg will give a presentation at noon today in room 201 of the International Center.
After several delays in the completion of ASMSU's Web site, ASMSU discussed the elimination of two officials Tuesday night.Members of MSU's undergraduate student government debated the performance of Association Director Vikas Menon and Director of Digital and Graphic Media Nitin Pereira, because the organization's Web page still was not completed after both were paid for the work.A bill introduced by James Madison representative Adam Raezler gave Menon and Pereira a Nov.
Four MSU units were selected to collaborate with an independent research center to improve their graduate programs.Departments in math, English, natural science and history were selected by California-based Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to participate in the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate.Cheryl Sisk, director of MSU's neuroscience program, which is within the College of Natural Science, said MSU was one of only nine neuroscience programs in the country chosen to work with the Carnegie Foundation."This gives us a chance to ask what kind of careers we are preparing students for and how to know if we're being successful," Sisk said.
TV programs "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," "Boy Meets Boy" and "Will and Grace" have all had an impact on lesbian, bi, gay and transgender communities, several campus groups are saying. As LBGT representation in American society and media increases, members of the groups are questioning what the costs and benefits to LBGT communities are. Several representatives will lead a panel discussion Wednesday addressing how popular culture affects LBGT civil rights movements. The free presentation runs from noon to 1 p.m.
Peace and Justice Studies at MSU will present "The Iraq Crisis: Where Do We Go From Here?" on Wednesday night with Juan Cole of the University of Michigan. Cole will address three issues in his presentation, including the current nature of the crisis in Iraq, its economic, military, political and diplomatic costs and possible routes out of involvement. The presentation runs from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
Taping footage for a mascot competition has led to an educational opportunity for the Student Alumni Foundation.Members from the Council of Students with Disabilities said they were offended when MSU mascot Sparty was seen wandering through the Union with a white cane and referee's jersey last Wednesday.The stunt was intended to be "the blind ref gag," according to foundation coordinators, a piece that would go into a yearly mascot competition video."The statement they were making was about a referee," foundation adviser Bev VandenBerg said, adding that the students involved in the videotaping didn't realize their actions were offensive.
ASMSU has agreed to pay an arbitration settlement with a music promotions group because of a campus appearance from rap artist Ludacris more than two years ago.MSU's undergraduate student government paid $6,000 last month to BTM Productions, a promotions group that signed the Atlanta-based rapper to perform at the Auditorium during Homecoming Week in October 2001.When Ebony Productions, a student organization under the programming board of ASMSU, brought Ludacris to campus, there were disagreements with the promotion company about the date and location.BTM Productions officials argued the crowd in attendance didn't meet their expectations.Andrew Schepers, Student Assembly vice-chairperson for internal affairs, said the concert date was changed because it conflicted with the Cold War, the Spartan Stadium hockey game between MSU and the University of Michigan.ASMSU has a risk-management fund, Schepers said, but because of the brief amount of time the organization had to settle the arbitration, funds were taken from the $52,657.63 budget for the ASMSU Special Projects fund.A bill to move the funds between accounts will go through the next Student Assembly meeting.Barry Schlussel, the attorney who represented BTM Productions during arbitration, and a BTM Productions spokesperson could not be reached for comment.Theresa Kelley, assistant general for MSU's general counsel, represented MSU during BTM's arbitration with the university."Ludacris performed as everyone agreed, and everyone thought that was that," Kelley said.