Jennifer Jankowski walked into a Lansing Holiday Inn hotel last weekend believing she was not an experienced enough photographer to win a statewide award.But Jankowski, a State News photographer, ending up taking second place in three categories at the annual Michigan Press Photographers Association Picture of the Year Awards.
Six MSU construction management students brought home third place honors in the National Association of Home Builders student competition in Atlanta during the weekend.The MSU group competed against 20 universities.
The icy weather outside during the weekend didn’t keep the flowers from blooming inside.More than 600 rare orchids took root at the MSU Plant and Soil Sciences Building for the Annual Orchid Show and Sale hosted by the Greater Lansing Orchid Society.“I am surprised we’ve had a really good turnout considering the weather,” society member Gus Kienitz said.But the 18th annual event brought many orchid growers and enthusiasts to see elaborate flower displays, purchase their own plants or learn more about orchids.The show, which has been held at MSU for the past 10 years, is one of the largest in the midwest.“There’s a lot of people who just come because it’s beautiful,” said Theresa Henderson, another society member.
Frigid temperatures and a looming gas price increase may be a concern for greenhouse owners, but MSU officials say rising costs are not going to leave them out in the cold.“We don’t have a problem with heating our greenhouses because we don’t pay for it,” said Dave Freville, MSU greenhouse manager.
About seventy people, including MSU students, participated in the three-day MSU Global Justice 2001 conference this weekend.
After a detailed presentation, numerous public comments and five hours of debate Thursday evening, ASMSU has decided the abortion drug RU-486 should be more accessible to students.ASMSU’s Student Assembly approved the bill that calls on the university to make RU-486, also known as mifepristone, attainable through Olin Health Center.With the measure’s approval, supporters now hope to discuss the matter more extensively with Olin and MSU officials.“This is not an issue that can be corrected overnight,” Women’s Council representative Melanie Olmsted said.Meanwhile, ASMSU representative Mike Ehlers, who introduced the bill with Olmsted earlier this month, said he was pleased with the amount of deliberation the measure has already inspired.“That was our intention,” said Ehlers, a College of Social Science representative for the assembly.
“Vagina. I said it. Vagina. There, I said it again.” These were the words that began “The Vagina Monologues” at the Auditorium on Sunday afternoon. The show, an adaptation of the original by Eve Ensler put on by MSU students as part of Vagina Week, was declared “an extraordinary accomplishment” by international studies junior and co-director Melanie Olmsted. “The Vagina Monologues” showcase different aspects of being a woman, such as domestic violence, childbirth and sexuality.
Culture of Greece and the Mediterranean will be coming a little closer to campus, when a professor and Greek native comes to Lansing on Sunday. The Cypriot and Greek Associationof MSU will be hosting a guest speaker at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 1701 East Saginaw St.
In an effort to encourage student activism on campus, the university’s undergraduate student government is looking to be held more responsible for its actions.ASMSU’s Student and Academic assemblies will be considering a joint resolution next week that makes the referendum process more accessible to MSU students.
In an attempt to make students more aware of issues surrounding eating disorders, a campus group will kick off Eating Disorders Awareness Week on Sunday. Respecting and Understanding Body Image will start the week with a new edition of stall stories. Nutritionist and group adviser Ronda Bokram said the stories are posters hung in bathroom stalls throughout campus. “They are our way of tackling issues about eating and body image,” Bokram said.
MSU students from the Detroit area have the opportunity to go home and take a piece of MSU with them this summer.
MSU students can live a little loca Friday night and experience a Latin Explosion.The theme for the event, in its sixth year, is “A Fuego” - on fire.
Some members of MSU Women’s Council will be working to rid MSU of domestic violence today and Friday. Today the group will be painting the rock on Farm Lane and members will march to Sparty on Friday. “I feel that we will raise awareness and raise money for an issue that is highly overlooked in this country,” group member Patti Wheeler said.
The Residence Halls Association is sponsoring the second annual Battle Against Cancer movie weekend at the Campus Center this Friday through Sunday. The movies, also viewing with the regular RHA movie schedule, are free to MSU students and the public, but a $1 donation is requested.
The Associated Students for Career Orientation in Telecommunications are hosting the first-ever MSU career fair with a special interest in telecommunication students, today - the Interactive Michigan Area Telecom Expo. In the past, jobs and internship opportunities for students majoring in telecommunication were difficult to come by, group spokesman and telecommunication junior Jeffrey Smith said. “The boom of the Internet and different information fields have sparked a need for this kind of expo,” Smith said. The group has set out to change the past and set a new trend, he said.
A joint program between MSU professors and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources could lead to the resurgence of the state tree - the white pine.Deb McCullough, an associate professor of forest entomology, has been collaborating with the DNR on several projects designed to minimize deforestation of the white pine.“For a number of reasons the white pine has had a lot of trouble regenerating,” McCullough said.
February is National Minority Law Student Recruitment Month, and local law schools are hosting several related events.The National Black Law Student Association, which has a chapter at MSU-Detroit College of Law, is holding its Midwest Region Convention today through Sunday at the Kellogg Center.
For Elaine Bush, it has always been difficult to contribute to decisions within the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources - until now. Bush, director of Manistee County’s MSU Extension office three hours from MSU, is one of hundreds who can now help with the college’s dean selection process through a new Web site. Because her staff makes the trip to campus only once or twice a year, it’s convenient for MSU Extension staff to get involved without leaving their desks, Bush said. “I am really impressed that they are keeping us appraised of the situation,” she said.
ASMSU’s Academic Assembly wants MSU students to have a say in what the Michigan quarter will look like when it’s released in three years.The assembly passed a measure Tuesday that will create a contest for students to design the coin.
Some MSU scientists are looking to make a breakthrough in the fight against high blood pressure.Dr. Donna Wang, professor of medicine, has been researching blood pressure and its effects on cardiovascular diseases like hypertension - commonly known as high blood pressure - for more than 14 years.“Hypertension has been studied for a long, long time but we still can’t define the cause of the disease,” Wang said.