Law school to host national trial contest

The future of a heart attack victim's insurance policy will be decided this weekend in the MSU College of Law building - at least 30 different times. Starting today, the law school is hosting the National Trial Advocacy Competition, a three-day tournament that pits 20 teams of four law school students from universities across the nation against each other in three rounds of competition. "This is a way to get students ready for real life practice," said Sara Presler-Hoefle, the National Trial Advocacy Competition director.

Conference addresses Latin American study abroad issues

A leader in international education visited campus Wednesday to highlight different United States and Latin American student study abroad trends after the Sept.

Women look to mace for protection

Even though carrying pepper spray doesn't automatically mean she'll be safe in the event of a sexual assault, Kathy Freel said having it with her makes her feel safer. "I grew up with the Boy Scout motto - be prepared," said Freel, a third-year MSU College of Law student.

E.L. votes recovered

Ballots for 253 East Lansing absentee votes were lost in the mail after a post office mix-up prevented them from being delivered to voters this month. City officials took the ballots to the East Lansing Post Office on Oct.

COGS pushes students to take action, write Congress

In addition to working on theses, graduate students will also spend today writing to Congress. The Council of Graduate Students, along with groups from other universities across the country, are taking part in National Student Day of Action today.

CATA to give free rides to voters on Nov. 2

The Capital Area Transportation Authority is offering free rides to the polls for voters who show valid voter registration cards on Election Day. Debbie Alexander, assistant executive director for CATA, said the program has been underway since the late 1980s.

Provost discusses safety, education

The safety of women on campus, college reorganization, and the higher education budget were a few of the topics discussed at "Conversation with the Provost," held Monday.

Groups encourage fair trade

A visit from two Mexican coffee farmers Tuesday helped some MSU students explain why it's important to make fair trade coffee available in campus cafeterias. The speakers, Jose Vasquez, president of the Las Abejas Civil Society, and Macario Arias Gomez, president of the Maya Vinic Coffee Cooperative, which is part of the society, spoke of hardships they faced growing coffee beans in Chiapas, Mexico before organizing into cooperatives and selling to fair trade companies in the United States, Canada, Japan and Switzerland. "We are organizing as a cooperative so that we can organize and work toward a better life," Vasquez said. In the mid-'90s, the Mexican government wanted to take the coffee farmers' communal land and sell it to private oil and timber companies, but the farmers peacefully protested.

Police briefs 10/20/04

Unfinished study spurs debate 2 years after death

Two years after an MSU student died while crossing Chandler Road, a crosswalk lies near the site she was struck.

'U' Extension works to inform E.L. of seasonal insects

Four home-invading insects could make their presence known in East Lansing this fall by infiltrating homes in search of a warm place to live. In addition to the multicolored Asian lady beetle - an invasive species that migrated from northeastern Asia - boxelder bugs, cluster flies and leaf-footed pine seed bugs are among the warmth-seeking pests, said Howard Russell, an entomologist with MSU Diagnostics Services. The insects usually surface on the first warm day following the first cold day of the year, Russell said, adding that the area has already experienced that first cold day. "We haven't seen large numbers yet, so I think that's a very good sign," he said.

Police briefs 10/19/04

Campus safety bill drafted

ASMSU officials said they are concerned with campus safety because of the recent sexual assaults on campus, so much so they wrote a bill to increase lighting and emergency phones on campus. The bill, written in the middle of its Student Assembly meeting Thursday, advocates for a safer campus and to support the Residence Halls Association's safety report issued last year. "One incident near the tennis courts, and tailgates are changed," said Derek Wallbank, a representative for the Council for Students with Disabilities.

Council meeting to address rental housing

Three more East Lansing communities will address the East Lansing City Council tonight, in hopes of stopping rental housing from being established in their neighborhoods. Through an ordinance approved by the council in April, residents have the power to create "overlay districts" through petitions, which would prohibit future rental housing or restrict those that exist.

Olin to provide cold, flu packs

With cold and flu season underway, and only about two-thirds of the flu vaccine expected to be available nationally, Olin Health Center officials are scurrying to provide this year's cold and flu kits. Jon Kermiet, an Olin Health Educator, said students will need to pay more attention to their hygiene practices this year to prevent sickness because the flu shot will not be made available to them. According to the 2004 National College Health Assessment, 82.3 percent of students contracted the cold or flu.

Lawmakers question abortion rights, Roe v. Wade decisions

Seventy million women would be at risk of losing their right to have an abortion if the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v.

Faculty members receive surprise awards

Six MSU supervisors were surprised with Supervisor Recognition Awards last week with the final award given Monday.

Jewish studies films show Israeli culture

The Jewish Studies Program is showing \"Desperado Square\" at 7:30 p.m. Monday in 147 Communication Arts and Sciences Bldg. Ellen Rothfeld, an MSU Hebrew lecturer, will introduce the film. Rothfeld said the purpose of the film series, which is in Hebrew, is to introduce students to the Israeli culture. \"Most of these films are not religious oriented, it\'s more the culture, although of course most of Israel is Jewish,\" Rothfeld said. The other film in the series, \"Broken Wings,\" will be shown at 7:30 p.m.

7-Eleven shooting trial goes to court

The murder trial of two men accused of killing Joseph Lavon Parker outside an East Lansing 7-Eleven begins today. Eric Charles Gordy, 35, and Hatarie Deamont McCorkle, 29, both of Detroit, allegedly shot Parker at the 7-Eleven at 210 E.

Law college to host Proposal 2 discussion

To show sensitivity to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, the MSU College of Law is hosting a panel discussion on the impact of Proposal 2 at noon today in Room 343 in the law school.