Statewide student groups lobby for higher ed funding
Like many students, Julielyn Gibbons worries about paying for college - she works, takes out loans and her parents are dipping into their retirement fund to help Gibbons and her siblings. "We're having to pay through the nose for tuition," said Gibbons, the director of legislative affairs for ASMSU's Student Assembly.
MIPA unchanged by embezzlement charges
Some advisers, students and officials agreed that the thousands of dollars allegedly embezzled from the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association haven't affected any programs, including the fall conference held at the Lansing Center on Monday. "It's upsetting, but it hasn't affected the program that I can see," said Gayle Martin, adviser for The Source, the student newspaper at Stoney Creek High School. Raye Grill, a former MSU employee, is charged with taking more than $20,000 from MIPA and between $1,000 and $20,000 from the MSU School of Journalism. Michigan Interscholastic Press Association, or MIPA, President Brian Wilson said the organization has been able to meet its budget every year. "When we were looking at the budget, we were essentially setting the budget based on money we had in the account," Wilson said.
Group responds to race-related assault
The floor where Elvia Gonzalez lives in East Akers Hall no longer has a bulletin board. After racist slurs were repeatedly written on the board, it was taken down. The same goes for the message board Gonzalez used to keep on her door. That kind of harassment isn't unusual on the floor where she lives with a number of other students who come from migrant families. But those slurs were mild compared to a Sept.
E.L. reports rise in noise complaints
East Lansing council members say they have received an increase in the number of noise complaints in neighborhoods, and East Lansing police say a ban on drinking games on campus has led to the increase. "I have had substantially more e-mail and telephone calls this fall than I have had the three previous falls that I've been on council," Councilmember Vic Loomis said.
Software upgrade causes sluggish Webmail
Andrea Campain said she wishes MSU Webmail was operating as usual. Right now, Campain said she has several different group projects in the works, all of which use an MSU e-mail account as a main communication form. "It's been really hard to keep up with everything going on in the group project because we can't communicate," the advertising senior said. For the last 10 days, Campain and anyone else who uses Webmail have found themselves waiting longer than normal for the server to load. Due to an upgrade in software this summer, the new e-mail system in use is not working properly at the correct speed, said Rich Wiggins, senior information technologist for Academic Computing & Network Services, adding that network users have called trying to figure out the problem. The system was upgraded in order to increase capacity, but the new server couldn't keep up with the increased amount of traffic during the fall semester. "We anticipated we needed more space to hold the amount of e-mail people are sending and receiving," Wiggins said. He said during mid-mornings and mid-to-late afternoons, he and his team have noticed that Webmail slows down significantly. To fix the problem, the office has been conducting conference calls with the software vendor.
Chinese restaurant from Ann Arbor opens new location in Northern Tier
Three years ago Kai Zheng decided it might be time to look outside the blue and maize mindset. He had worked at his father's Panda House restaurant in Ann Arbor as a dishwasher, cook - almost every job at the restaurant - for four years and wanted his own piece of the restaurant business. So Zheng and his father started to look at locations in East Lansing to open another Panda House. They gravitated toward the Northern Tier area because of its high-traffic volume from student apartments.
MSU groups unite to aid relief
Walking out of the tunnel only moments after the Spartans football team had raced onto the field, members of three campus groups carried their fundraiser for hurricane relief to the center of about 75,000 fans' attention Saturday. About 30 members of ASMSU, the Residence Halls Association and the MSU chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary brought out a 40-yard-long banner, decked with signatures of fans who raised money for universities in areas hit by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
American Indian history taught at museum event
By Jenni Lewis Special to the State News People got the chance to learn about American Indian history Saturday by tossing spears and touching stones that were once made by American Indians at Michigan Archaeology Day at the Michigan Historical Museum. October has been proclaimed Michigan Archaeology Month by Gov.
Dash appeals to athletes, young and old
The inflatable dinosaur was ready, the course was drawn out and the weather was perfect as the Dinosaur Dash got in full swing Sunday morning in front of the MSU Museum. The events, which included a 5K Run-Walk, the Museum Mile and a Mini-Dash, attracted runners, walkers and families from throughout the state. "I've been looking forward to this for a year," said Travis Asher, a fourth-grade student at Murphy Elementary School who participated in the event's Museum Mile catered toward children under 12.
Students, area residents gather to show stance on abortion
People carrying signs reading "Abortion Kills Children" and "Adoption: The Loving Option," among others, lined the sidewalk down Grand River Avenue from Abbott Road to Charles Street demonstrating against abortion on Sunday.
Religious studies to update curriculum with expert's aid
Although its curriculum dates back centuries, the Department of Religious Studies is giving itself a facelift with help from a noted religious scholar. This week, Charles Long, retired professor of the history of religions and former director of the Center of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, will present lectures on the study of religion.
First-class animal care site opened
Friday's dedication of a new campus veterinary facility was punctuated by swanky jazz, distinguished guests and a photo-friendly ribbon-cutting. It was an elegant ceremony for a center that will soon house critically ill and contagious large animals. "The animals we get to see here are particularly ill, often critically ill," said Fred Derksen, large animal clinical sciences professor.
Man seen leaving shooting to face weapons charges
Mario Deshun Williams will face a felony weapons charge in Ingham County Circuit Court, a district court judge decided Friday. The 20-year-old Oak Park man was arrested after officers stopped the vehicle he was driving, which was noticed leaving the scene of a Sept.
Civil War comes alive in Lansing
A Civil War camp came to the Lansing area on Sunday, as a group of battle reenactors gathered to participate in a "living history" event. An infantry group set up tents with weapons and uniforms from Civil War soldiers at the event, held at the Michigan Library and Historical Center, 702 W.
Float money to help Gulf states
By Michael Steigmeyer Special to The State News East Lansing High School faculty and students are donating the money and supplies they raised for homecoming floats to the victims of the hurricanes in the Gulf states. More than $1,000 is typically spent on each of the four student-constructed floats, said student congress adviser Juliet McQueen-Dagbovie.
MSU president endorses economy-boosting groups
MSU administrators are spearheading an initiative that could lead to the creation of two new organizations that aim to spur economic development in the Lansing area. On Sept.