Governance OKs minors

Students are one step closer to adding academic minors to their transcripts now that the concept has been approved by the Academic Governance system. Individual colleges and departments have been given the OK to consider whether they will offer academic minors to students, following the approval of a proposal about the topic at Tuesday's Academic Council meeting. Academic minors are defined as a secondary field of study for undergraduates and are made up of courses that provide a student with understanding of the field's major concepts. "It's a long, overdue change that the students have been asking for quite awhile," said Eric Hinojosa, ASMSU's Academic Assembly chairperson. Sarah Kunst, a retailing and interdisciplinary studies in social science sophomore, said she would add a minor to her transcript. "As a retailing major, I have a business cognate, but I think that having a minor shows your work more," Kunst said.

Police briefs 04/25/06

Bike project expands spring service hours

The MSU Bike Project has added additional workshop hours from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursdays to combat the increased need for bikes and bike repairs. The Bike Project is a group composed of volunteers dedicated to promoting bicycling on campus. It offers one-year leases for bikes and provides bike repair services to the MSU community for donations.

MSU, China formally declare partnership

Officials from MSU and China's National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language signed an agreement Monday to create the MSU Confucius Institute, which will provide online Chinese language instruction to students across the state. MSU President Lou Anna K.

Extraordinary births

Tucked away in their own corner of the barn, four lambs slept soundly near each other under the careful watch of their mother. "It's hard being center stage all the time," said Holly Glomski, farm manager at the MSU Sheep Teaching and Research Center. The four lambs are one of two sets of live quadruplet lambs born at the center this month.

Group searches for new natural sciences dean

With another college dean leaving at the end of 2006, faculty members are beginning to search for candidates who can fill the position. Dean George Leroi of the College of Natural Science is planning to retire and will step down from his position on Dec.

Wal-Mart pays out $1.5M in violation of Mich. item-pricing regulation

Missing price tags will force Wal-Mart to pay a $1.5 million settlement, the Michigan attorney general's office announced Monday. It is the largest fine issued for violating a Michigan law which requires stores to label prices on most of their merchandise. "This is an issue that faces every retailer in the state of Michigan," said Wal-Mart spokesperson John Simley. Simley said that Wal-Mart stores contain hundreds of thousands of items. "That's an awful lot of items to have a price sticker on," he said.

Mich. cities plan to cut emissions

Global warming has appeared on the radar in recent years as scientists continually question what could happen if Earth's temperature continues to rise.

E.L. building approved after 2-year wait

A four-story building approved last week by the East Lansing City Council, to be constructed between 500 Albert Ave.

'Dreamworlds II' to play on campus today

The film "Dreamworlds II" will be screened on campus today at Olds Hall in room 11. The movie shows the impact of pop culture on young people in regard to their sexuality and gender, using more than 200 images from music videos to illustrate the point. Free pizza will be served at 12:30 p.m., with the film starting at 1:00 p.m.

Driver flees scene after car crashes into Gunson apartment

Kimberly Worpek, 22, was playing a computer game in her Gunson Street apartment early Friday morning when she heard a speeding car.

Police briefs 04/24/06

Students march against initiative

About 35 students marched from the Brody Complex to the steps of Hubbard Hall in protest of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, or MCRI, on Friday. The group of students call themselves S.T.E.P.S.

Cultural connection

For the first time since 2003, live emcees hosted Satrang, an annual Indian cultural show put on by the Coalition of Indian Undergraduate Students on Saturday at the Auditorium. In the past few years, the organization had opted to use videotaped segments to introduce each new dance.

MSU area participates in trials of breast cancer prevention drugs

Judy Harris was alarmed when doctors informed her of a possibly cancerous spot on her breast after her annual mammogram. Harris, 64, said she was particularly concerned about developing breast cancer because of the high occurrence of the disease in her family, although a biopsy on the spot revealed it was only a calcium deposit, a potential precursor to breast cancer. Harris then was asked by doctors to participate in one of the largest breast cancer prevention clinical trials ever conducted that would test the effectiveness of the breast cancer prevention drugs Tamoxifen and Raloxifene. Researchers released the results of the international study Monday, showing that both drugs lowered the risk of developing breast cancer by 50 percent.

Interest rates to increase

After July 1, students who borrow money to pay their college expenses will notice an about 2 percent increase in interest they will pay on those loans. After the deadline, Stafford Loan interest rates will increase from 4.7 percent to 6.8 percent.

5K race this weekend to assist Safe Place

The MSU Safe Place "Race for the Place 5K" will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday at Jenison Field House.

Flowers used to protest war

Last month while protesting the war in Iraq outside Congressman Mike Rogers', R- Brighton, Lansing office, Terry Olson came up with an idea. "Right in the middle of the week — it was a long, hard, grind of a week — I looked up and saw the flower shop and thought it would be nice to do something positive to deliver our message," said Olson, who is a member of the Greater Lansing Network Against War & Injustice, or GLNAWI. So Olson walked about a block from Rogers' office to Bancroft Flowers & Gifts, 1417 E.

Stanford professor to speak to graduates

Paul Ehrlich, the Bing Professor of Population Studies at Stanford University, will speak at the commencement ceremony for graduate students on May 5. "I am going to say something about needed changes in the structure of universities and things that (the graduates) can do to help themselves and help other people deal with the information explosions that we have," Ehrlich said. When he was asked to speak at the ceremony, he said he was pleased because he has close colleagues at MSU. One of his MSU colleagues is Jack Liu, a distinguished professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. "He and I were standing together when the second plane hit the World Trade Center on Sept.

Resource fair included in Spartan Celebration

The second annual Spartan Celebration Day will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Kellogg Center. The program, which is sponsored by MSU's Office of Admissions and Scholarships, is to welcome incoming students of color and their families. A student organization resource fair will be included in the program, where students can learn more about different groups on campus from current members.