Police-student forum sees low attendance

ASMSU member Melissa Horste said she plans to work with East Lansing and MSU police officers to reschedule a meeting for students to come and discuss issues with police after low publicity generated a weak turnout on Wednesday. Five officers from the East Lansing and MSU police departments went to the Communication Arts and Sciences Building on Wednesday night to hear students' concerns, but no students came to ask questions. The only students present were Horste, director of community affairs for ASMSU's Student Assembly — who helped coordinate the event — and journalism junior Kevin Lehman, who was covering the event for a class. Horste said she hoped the reason no one came was because there wasn't enough advertising for the meeting. East Lansing police Chief Tom Wibert and Horste discussed having a meeting in Wonders Hall and offering refreshments next time. "We'll learn from this," Horste said.

RHA speaks with provost, discuss academic issues

Members of the Residence Halls Association held a question-and-answer session with Provost Kim Wilcox and planned to elect a new vice president at its meeting Wednesday. It was the first time Wilcox was back in Holmes Hall, where the meeting was held, since he was a student at MSU in 1976. "(Wilcox) has not been a presenter before," RHA President Kevin Newman said.

Ingham nurses strike following staff shortages

Only 10 percent of the Ingham Regional Medical Center's nurses showed up to work Wednesday morning on the first day of a strike they say was sparked by understaffing. Nurses from the U.S.

La Casa offers bilingual living

When Kristina Leonardi hears commotion outside her third-floor door in West McDonel Hall on a Tuesday or Thursday evening, she knows it's dinnertime. The criminal justice and Spanish senior is a resident of the La Casa residential program — which means "the house" in Spanish.

Police briefs 10/13/05

Granholm talks economics with locals

Lansing — Gov. Jennifer Granholm met with a group of MSU students and area residents Wednesday to discuss her economic plan to stimulate job growth throughout the state. Granholm asked each person on the panel about how they would alter the state's economy — some suggested combining education with job training while others wanted a plan to make sure their children could attend college. "What would you do if you were me," Granholm said.

Banana farmer stresses importance of fair trade

For 50 more cents, shoppers can purchase fair trade bananas, ensuring that the banana farmer who supplied the fruit was justly paid. A pound of regular bananas costs 49 cents at an East Lansing Kroger supermarket, located at 1550 W.

MSU anniversary events receive mixed turnout

Turnout at last weekend's sesquicentennial events was mixed, and might have been limited by cold weather, organizers said. The weekend's events — which included the revival of former campus tradition Water Carnival, the sesquicentennial parade and a show by comedian Jay Leno — were held to commemorate MSU's 150th anniversary, which is beginning to wind down, sesquicentennial committee Chairwoman Sue Carter said. The weekend's celebration marked the last major push planned by the committee, Carter said. Organizers estimated about 3,500 people watched Water Carnival, which was held for the first time in 36 years.

Police briefs 10/12/05

MSU unchanged by expected rise in natural gas prices

MSU will remain largely unaffected by a projected jump in natural gas prices, an official with the MSU Physical Plant said. State utility regulators predicted the monthly bill of a natural gas user in Michigan to rise from an average of $59 to nearly $190 this winter. MSU uses coal as the primary fuel to heat campus buildings, with natural gas at between 5 percent and 7 percent of fuel use, said Ron Flinn, assistant vice president for the MSU Physical Plant. "The amount of natural gas we use is relatively small," Flinn said. Boilers in the Physical Plant are ignited by natural gas, but coal is used to run them, Flinn said.

Local tanning salon and restaurant plan to join in Hurricane Katrina relief effort to donate supplies

Bronze Bay Tanning and Bell's Greek Pizza agreed to participate in the Spartans for Hurricane Katrina Relief program by selling $1 donation cards. The Residence Halls Association, ASMSU and the MSU chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary started the fundraiser about a month ago. They are buying goods and supplies such as linens and toiletries for universities in the hurricane-stricken area. Megan Miller, who works at Bronze Bay Tanning, 109 E.

WEB ONLY: Conference to examine globalization, American foreign policy

It's time to take a look at the United States' effect on the rest of the world and the consequences of globalization, said Professor David Stowe, director of the American Studies Program. The program is hosting "America and the Problem of Empire," a four-day conference that begins today at Wells Hall with the presentation of the documentary film, "The Corporation," which focuses on the global effects of big business.

Olin, Web site urge MSU to quit smoking

In order to help smokers in the MSU community quit the habit, Olin Health Center and Healthy U have partnered with a Web site that offers them a variety of tools. MSU launched its portion of the site, www.QuitNet.com Monday.

Task force awaiting nominees

When nominations were collected last week for five task forces aimed to look at faculty's role in university decisions, Executive Committee of Academic Council Chairperson Jon Sticklen said he noticed a problem. At Tuesday's executive committee meeting, Sticklen informed the committee that there weren't enough nominees to fill the largest task force, which will be looking at restructuring the Academic Governance system. Last month, Faculty Council ruled that each task force requires a certain amount of nominees before they can be approved. These task forces are a result of last year's Faculty Voice report, compiled by faculty members who made recommendations that would give them more of a presence in administrative decisions. Other task forces will be looking at the process for reviewing administrators and academic programs, general communication procedures in Academic Governance and the role of fixed-term faculty. Judith Andre, philosophy professor and member of the Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences, said she was hesitant to postpone all work with the Academic Governance reorganization task force.

Police briefs 10/12/05

Views on fire safety differ for officials, students

Every month, an alarm blares throughout the residence halls - another fire drill. But following Friday's fire at Bryan Hall, several students said they first thought alarms were only signaling a fire drill, and the majority of the residents were in no hurry to exit the building. Many students only knew it was a real fire once they saw the smoke rising from a third-floor window. "They think they are invulnerable, and therefore 'It's not going to happen to me,' but it does happen," said Paul Goldblatt, director of Residence Life.

Filmmaker shares thoughts on culture

Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns said his films have a running subplot of race, but his main focus in creating them is to remind people of how history and culture unite us. Burns drew from his experiences making documentaries in two campus addresses on Monday. "We live in a society where everything is divided," he said.

Study: Vaccine might prevent cervical cancer

A study shows that a new vaccine might be almost 100 percent effective in preventing cervical cancer in women. The vaccine, called GARDASIL, was developed by Merck and Co. Inc., and might be able to prevent cancer that is associated with the human papillomavirus, which also is known to cause genital warts.

Police briefs 10/11/05

Walk for breast cancer awareness on Oct. 15

The MSU Women's Resource Center is asking people to participate in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk that will be held at 9 a.m.