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MICHIGAN

Wal-Mart faces public protest

A certain smiley face might be frowning this week as many in the MSU community join a national campaign challenging the superstore, Wal-Mart, to become a better corporate citizen. As part of Wal-Mart Higher Expectations Week, more than 1,200 events in each state, including protests, legislative town hall meetings and screenings of a new documentary "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" have been organized, said Nu Wexler, spokesman for Wal-Mart Watch. The nonprofit organization has been working to publicize allegations that the superstore practices discrimination against employees, other corporations and the environment all in an effort to keep prices low. Wexler said the name of the week was a spin-off on a statement once made by Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. "He used to tell his employees that high expectations are the key to everything and we certainly agree," Wexler said.

MICHIGAN

City will invest $4M for Lansing Center upgrades

Millions of dollars in renovations to the Lansing Center will bring more people into the city. At least, that's what the Lansing City Council hopes. "We need to keep the Lansing Center viable," City Council President Sandy Allen said.

MSU

Panel grades youth sports

Laura Collins
November 17, 2005

A community league soccer game for 6-year-olds has turned into something too serious, said Dan Gould, the director of MSU's Institute for the Study of Youth Sports. "Some of the dads are worried about who is winning, when 6-year-olds should just run around," said Gould, also a kinesiology professor.

MSU

RHA reps sample, critique potential dorm fare

Kristen Daum
November 17, 2005

It smelled like home-cooked food as about 40 Residence Halls Association representatives sat down to dinner in a Williams Hall meeting room. Before them were new food dishes — fried jalapeño bottle caps, Indian curry with basmati rice and blueberry quesadillas.

MSU

New engineering lab to debut on campus

Laura Collins
November 17, 2005

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday to introduce the new site of the Energy and Automotive Research Laboratories on MSU's campus. The site is located south of the Engineering Research Complex, on the corner of Service Road and Bogue Street.

MSU

MSU to offer new doctoral program

Laura Collins
November 16, 2005

A new graduate program about the increasing Chicanos and Latinos present in the United States will be offered at MSU beginning in the fall of 2006. A new report released by the University Committee on Curriculum was approved Tuesday, adding the Chicano/Latino Studies doctoral program to the university's curriculum. Academic Council met Tuesday, the same day as the scheduled Faculty Council meeting, because of the Thanksgiving holiday next week. "It is a very important thing to stake out interest in the Chicano/Latino Studies," said Mike Schechter, chairman of the University Committee on Curriculum.

MSU

Immediate openings offered at preschool

Fredricka Paul
November 16, 2005

There are immediate openings for MSU's Child Development Laboratory morning and afternoon preschool for children 3- to 5-years old. Classes meet Monday through Thursday until April 28. The morning session is from 8:45 to 11:45 a.m.

MSU

Alum honored for service

Laura Collins
November 16, 2005

Standing in the back of the MSU Auditorium in the 1960s, David Hollister's life was changed. As a night student working toward his master's degree, Hollister was handed a flier for one of the many guest speeches held on campus. But this one was different. In a packed auditorium, Hollister said he listened to Martin Luther King Jr.

MSU

Chimps mourn departed friend

His half brother and four other members of his troop sat beside him to touch the body of their companion for one last time. Jo Mendi, a 26-year-old male chimpanzee at John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, died Friday after routine dental surgery. Later that day, the five other chimpanzees Jo Mendi had lived with since 2001 were given an opportunity to bid him farewell. "There was not a dry eye in the place," said Bert Vescolani, director of the zoo.

MICHIGAN

New SN editor expects gradual changes for paper

Kris Turner
November 16, 2005

Connecting to readers and expanding the content of The State News are just some of the plans Nick Mrozowski would like to implement as the next editor in chief of the paper. Mrozowski, a journalism junior who is the deputy managing editor of the paper, was appointed head of the newsroom by The State News Board of Directors in late October.

MICHIGAN

FDA to reconsider morning-after pill

Jennifer Toland
November 16, 2005

The morning-after pill might be available over the counter after congressional investigators questioned the Food and Drug Administration's requirement to consider it a prescription. The independent Government Accountability Office reviewed the FDA's first rejection, uncovering what they called "unusual" decision making.

MICHIGAN

New council members look to revitalize city with youth

Lansing's student population could increase if the new Lansing council members have anything to do with it. Newly elected members Tim Kaltenbach and Kathie Dunbar both said they want Lansing to be more attractive to younger people and want to give the city a night life. "I'd like to see our downtown open at night, with galleries and shopping and restaurants and coffee houses that are open," Dunbar said.

MSU

Assault program honored

Jennifer Toland
November 16, 2005

Twenty-five years ago, MSU formed one of the first on-campus sexual assault programs in the country. The program was started by students wanting to respond to sexual assault on campus, said Carmen Lane, the advocacy coordinator for the Sexual Assault Crisis & Safety Education Program. A room full of about 40 volunteers, university, local officials, and past and present coordinators celebrated the 25th anniversary of the program on Tuesday. Although the program has grown in many ways, such as having more full-time staff positions, the core values of the program have remained the same, Lane said. "Student volunteers are the core of who we are," she said.

MICHIGAN

Apartments to replace destroyed home

A three-story apartment complex with space for 12 occupants will be constructed on Evergreen Avenue where the hollowed remains from a June house fire still stand. Each four-person apartment will include four bedrooms, a kitchen and living space, said the property's owner Matt Hagan, an agent with Hagan Reality Inc. A parking lot for at least 12 cars will be located behind the complex, he said. Hagan owned the house at 404 Evergreen Ave., north of campus near the Valley Court Park, when a June fire caused an estimated $175,000 in damages. Hagan decided to submit plans for a small apartment building because the house would be too costly to repair, and the property's proximity to campus would be attractive to students.

MICHIGAN

Groups protest SN editorial cartoon, support U.S. military troops

About 25 people gathered outside of The State News, 435 E. Grand River Ave., on Monday in response to Friday's editorial cartoon. From about 1 to 3 p.m., protesters occupied both sides of the street in front of the building chanting, passing out information about the cartoon and carrying signs and an American flag. The cartoon, by State News cartoonist Mike Ramsey, featured a World War II veteran saying "I liberated a torture camp back in '45" to a modern-day soldier. The soldier, shown holding a bloody baseball bat with a nail at the end, responds by saying "I work in one." International relations junior Dave Coogan participated in the protest and said the cartoon's release on Veterans Day was distasteful. "I was really disappointed in The State News," Coogan said.

MSU

Panel of experts promote healthy images

Jennifer Toland
November 15, 2005

Problems with body image might be more common than people think. With images of celebrities everywhere, from magazine racks in supermarkets to advertisements on billboards, most people deal with body image issues at some point in their lives and eating disorders are becoming more prevalent, said Dave Novicki, a professor and counselor at the MSU Counseling Center. The problems with body image are not going away anytime soon and prompted a panel discussion on Monday night held by the campus group Respecting and Understanding Body Image, or RUBI. The group works to promote positive body images and increase eating disorder awareness. "We have a lot of people that are not 'eating disordered,'" he said.