Men charged in student death

Two men have been charged on multiple counts in the 6th Judicial Circuit Court in Oakland County in relation to a Jan.

Flyers raise awareness about riots

With both MSU basketball teams advancing to the Sweet 16, university and city officials are focusing on raising awareness about responsible celebration through flyers and meetings. The flyers, detailing the consequences of participating in or watching a riot and publicly consuming alcohol, were put together by Olin Health Center and distributed throughout the city and on campus. "We don't want people to think the norm is that everyone gets drunk and is out of control," said Dennis Martell, Olin Health Education Services Coordinator. The flyers use information from a 2003 survey of social and academic life, conducted by MSU's Institute for Public Policy and Social Research.

Police briefs 03/24/05

Research shown at capitol

Undergraduate students from a number of universities across Michigan presented their research Wednesday at the Capitol for the Michigan Undergraduate Research Forum. More than 50 students from MSU, Wayne State University, University of Michigan, University of Michigan-Dearborn and University of Michigan-Flint were present at the forum. The event commenced in the Capitol rotunda with an opening speech by MSU President Lou Anna K.

ASMSU: More voters to turn out for election

Eight hours into ASMSU's election, 500 students - or about 1.4 percent - had logged onto the election Web site to vote, but student government leaders said that's not good enough. "It may be lower than what it was last year," Patricia Smith, Student Assembly internal vice chairperson said.

Proposed bill would streamline organ-donation process

People interested in donating their organs could have the front of their driver's licenses or ID cards stamped with a heart logo beginning in 2007 if a bill passed in the Senate is made law. Introduced by Sen.

Women leaders meet at Kellogg to discuss higher-ed challenges

Some of Michigan's top women leaders in higher education met Wednesday in the Kellogg Center to address the challenges facing today's colleges and universities. The roundtable discussion was sponsored by the Council of Graduate Students to give students a chance to hear how the leaders were facing today's problems, such as state funding and the challenges for women in leadership roles. Martha Smydra, president of Oakland Community College's Royal Oak and Southfield campuses, said things have changed significantly since she began her career 30 years ago. "Back then, some women would get positions based on their minority status," Smydra said.

Union Video To Go owner: Store closed after months of slow business

Video To Go has checked out of the Union. The movie rental store, which opened in September, closed during spring break, said Tom Leach, Video To Go owner. The store's roughly 2,000 movies were taken to the Video To Go location at the Frandor Shopping Center in Lansing, Leach said. Leach said the store struggled to maintain a steady stream of business, partly due to the presence of another Video To Go location a few miles away. "We were kind of competing with ourselves," Leach said.

ASMSU Election Candidates

Academic Assembly Candidates College of Natural Science Matthew Hovey Lyman Briggs sophomore One open seat College of Arts & Letters Two open seats Eli Broad College of Business Jordan Catrinefinance junior Karen Guzdzial marketing sophomore Anna Petrovich hospitality business junior College of Communication, Arts & Sciences Kristen Ditta advertising junior One open seat College of Education Two open seats College of Engineering Two open seats College of Human Ecology Two open seats James Madison College Jessica Garry international relations junior Alex Plum political theory and constitutional democracy and international relations sophomore Ian Mattoon political theory and constitutional democracy and international relations freshman College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Lauren Polinsky park, recreation and tourism resources sophomore One open seat College of Social Science Raman Agrawal psychology junior Nicholas Romley political science sophomore Robert Murphy political science senior College of Nursing Two open seats College of Veterinary Medicine Two open seats Undergraduate Division Two open seats Student Assembly Candidates College of Natural Science Matthew Hovey Lyman Briggs sophomore Timothy Jordan premedical sophomore College of Arts & Letters Erik Green English junior Eli Broad College of Business Yusaf Sumbal supply chain management junior Steven Holben finance sophomore Scott Lachman general business administration and pre-law sophomore Tahera Sakarwala supply chain management junior Harry Wang finance freshman College of Communication, Arts & Sciences Kristen Ditta advertising junior Derek Wallbank journalism junior Jessica Kunnath advertising junior College of Education Two open seats College of Engineering Ryan Blair computer science junior College of Human Ecology One open seat James Madison College Garret Bowman political science freshman Ian Mattoon political theory and constitutional democracy and international relations freshman Steven Irlbacher political theory and constitutional democracy freshmen Jacob Tornga James Madison College freshman College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Lauren Polinsky parks, recreation and tourism sophomore Lauren Olson environmental and economics policy junior College of Social Science Katie Derthick political science junior Roger Ludy economics junior Hallee Winnie interdisciplinary studies in social science junior Raman Agrawal psychology junior Nicholas Romley political science sophomore Robert Murphy political science senior Mike Leahy political science junior College of Nursing One open seat College of Veterinary Medicine Two open seats Undergraduate Division Two open seats

Police briefs 03/23/05

Teen fights for free speech

A censorship debate sparked by an underground, conservative newspaper at East Lansing High School continued Tuesday when the editor said he will distribute the paper against school policy. The administration halted distribution of the independent newspaper last week and said it stands behind a district policy requiring all publications to be approved by the principal as official organizations with adult advisers.

Prof helps Rwanda's coffee trade

During the last three years, Professor Dan Clay, director of the Institute of International Agriculture, has helped triple the price Rwandans receive for coffee, one of the country's main exports. Clay's Project PEARL (Partnerships to Enhance Agriculture in Rwanda through Linkages) was launched in 2001 "Coffee has been grown there for generations," Clay said.

Man charged in fatal car accident

A Marshall man is held in jail with no bond after he was charged Tuesday in East Lansing's 54-B District Court with murder, stealing a motor vehicle and drunken driving in relation to an accident early Friday morning that killed an Okemos resident. Alexander Hamil, 19, was arraigned Tuesday afternoon in front of Judge Richard D.

Scientists: Lower-sugar cereal not more healthy

In the battle for the hearts of health-seeking Americans, cereal manufactures offer lower-sugar sweetened cereal, but experts say the new versions are almost nutritionally unchanged. At the request of The Associated Press, nutrition scientists from five universities looked at cereals offered by both General Mills and Kellogg's and found that calories, carbohydrates, fat and fiber did not change significantly. The lower-sugar option was offered because there was a demand from consumers, said Shelly Dvorak, spokeswoman for General Mills, which lowered sugar content in its cereals, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Trix and Cocoa Puffs. "We had consumers writing in and calling in for reduced-sugar options," Dvorak said. But although reducing sugar in the cereal, carbohydrates had to be added, Dvorak said.

Sparty's worker named MSU employee of the year

For his work at Sparty's Convenience Stores, advertising senior Justin Best has been named MSU's Student Employee of the Year. "It's quite an honor.

Sen. speaks on Social Security

College students need to be concerned with the future of Social Security, because changes to it will affect them, U.S.

MSU athletes still watched, tested for steroid use

As national attention turns to steroid use among athletes, health and MSU officials say it is a constant battle to monitor new drugs. Last week, Congress heard testimony from several professional baseball players in an effort to shed light on steroid use. It is an important health issue, said Robert White, spokesman for the House Committee on Government Reform. "What we heard from the hearing is this is not just steroids," White said.

Air traffic keeps growing locally, nationally

In February, 46,564 passengers flew through Lansing's Capital City Airport - more people than the number of students who attend MSU. This was an increase of 6.3 percent in a month, following a national trend of increased air travel traffic. The Federal Aviation Administration released a forecast Thursday, stating that more than 1 billion passengers will travel yearly by air by 2015.

Members blame policy for lack of eligible applicants

With ASMSU elections a day away, the student government is once again having trouble finding enough people to fill its open seats. And ASMSU members said their election code could be the cause of the problem. History shows that not many students apply for student government seats, and candidates running have no problem getting elected because of the lack of competition. This year, the Academic Assembly has 13 seats still open, and the Student Assembly, which has two more seats than 2003, has 17 open. Last year, of 26 seats open on the Academic Assembly, nine were filled.

Main Library creates nook for children, aids parents' studying

In hopes of giving student parents time to study, a new addition has been made to MSU's Main Library - a children's nook. The nook opened during spring break and was created when students from the Student Parents on a Mission, or SPOM, brought up the idea to library administrators. "We were approached by a student group, and they made the argument that there was no place for students who have small children to study," said Jim Hensley, an administrative assistant for MSU Libraries and coordinator of the project. The project was funded by donations from Lori Strom, coordinator of the Family Resource Center, the library and students from SPOM. Hensley said there is a sampling of books for children as young as toddlers to as old as early teens.