Thursday, January 1, 2026

Take a peek behind the curtain and test drive the NEW StateNews.com today!

News

MICHIGAN

Greeks host Halloween gala

By Scott Mitchell Atkinson Special for The State News Miniature versions of Harry Potter, The Incredible Hulk, vampires and witches roamed the streets of East Lansing in search of games and candy with their parents at the seventh annual Safe Halloween Celebration on Friday.

MICHIGAN

Center teaches about 'Fur, Fat and Feathers'

"Fur, Fat and Feathers" will take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday at Harris Nature Center to teach visitors how animals survive the winter in Michigan. Visitors will explore the park to see what changes are taking place in the surrounding woods at the center, located at 3998 Van Atta Road in Okemos.

MSU

ASMSU to debate T-shirt controversy next week

ASMSU officials are considering next week a statement denouncing the circulation of explicit anti-University of Michigan T-shirts and fliers. The public statement would not be made until the week after the football game. A bill was sent to both assemblies of MSU's undergraduate student government to make a statement against a flier distributed across campus last week that bore the phrase "Wolverines Pack Fudge" above an explicit drawing as an advertisement for T-shirts bearing the same image. "We support diversity on campus," Student Assembly Vice Chairperson for Internal Affairs Andrew Schepers said at the Academic Assembly meeting Tuesday night.

MICHIGAN

Lansing science center holds 'Fright Night'

Family Fright Night will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the The Impression 5 Science Center, 200 Museum Drive in Lansing. During this Halloween celebration, children can collect treats and get their safety fingerprints taken by officials from the Lansing Police Department.

MICHIGAN

State seat-belt safety breaks record

Michigan increased seat-belt use in the state to a record 85 percent since Labor Day.The figures, released by the Michigan State Police Office of Highway Safety Planning, came from a direct observation survey conducted by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.In March 2000, seat-belt use was at 83.5 percent.

MICHIGAN

Fire protection funds suffer; officials worry

A continual loss in fire-protection money combined with a $900 million state budget shortfall has caused mayors and city officials throughout Michigan to present their concerns to the governor.A public act passed in 1979 was designed to allocate fire-protection funding to cities with state institutions such as universities, hospitals and police stations.

MSU

Mayor election could affect abortion bill

Sen. Virg Bernero, D-Lansing, might be the deciding factor in whether the Senate Republican leaders choose to try to override an abortion bill veto.Senate Bill 395, better known as the legal birth definition act, defines exactly when a person is born as "when any portion of a human being has been vaginally delivered outside his or her mother's body." Partial-birth abortion would be considered illegal in Michigan under this bill.If Bernero is elected as the next mayor of Lansing in November, he will step down from his seat in the state Senate, leaving 37 members rather than the usual 38.With Bernero gone, the number of votes needed to override Gov.

MSU

Debate team travels to Harvard

More than 25 members of the MSU debate team spend countless hours each week perusing textbooks in the corridors of Linton Hall to research arguments for their next great debate.The team will travel to Harvard University this weekend for its fifth tournament, this time against 70 other schools."Our goal is to have as many two-person teams advance to the final round of tournaments on Monday (as possible)," said Will Repko, one of the debate coaches.Repko said the team did well at their last tournament in Washington, D.C."Even our first-year students had a strong showing," he said.Each debate season, a new topic for each team to discuss is chosen.

MSU

'U' department develops test for SAT

Students in the MSU Department of Psychology are developing a personality-based addition to the SAT to more accurately match incoming students with colleges. The College Success Project, now in its third year, is funded with about $300,000 from the College Board, the distributors of the SAT. Psychology Professor Neal Schmitt, who leads the project with nine other student researchers, said the two-section multiple choice test aims to boil down a student's personality into a numerical score. The first section, a biographical data test, asks students about high school experiences, including extra-curricular activities, sports, clubs and leadership roles held by students. The second section is a situational judgment test, which gives students hypothetical situations and allows them to choose a course of action. Psychology graduate student Alyssa Friede said the test also will help gauge how well a student might perform in college. "Some people feel the SAT and ACT don't give a sense of who they are," Friede said.

MSU

8 students await results for awards

When Katharine Sophiea found out she had been nominated to receive a Rhodes scholarship, her dad was ecstatic."I think he told just about everyone in the state of Michigan about it," said Sophiea, an English and education senior, who also holds a degree in social relations.Sophiea is one of eight MSU students who were nominated for three prestigious international awards - the Rhodes, Mitchell and Marshall scholarships.

MICHIGAN

Greek community hosts safe halloween

The MSU greek community will host the seventh annual Safe Halloween at East Lansing sorority and fraternity houses tonight.Fraternity and sorority members will greet children and pass out treats at all houses on M.A.C.

MSU

On guard

Students have unpacked their coats and mittens to prepare for the upcoming winter, but the Spartan statue has no such outerwear to protect him from the Michigan elements - yet. The 9-foot-7-inch tall terra-cotta clay statue soon will reside in heated comfort inside the addition to Spartan Stadium in 2005.

MSU

Students work for Islam awareness

Members from the Muslim Students' Association are in the International Center this week educating passing students and visitors about the Islamic faith for Islam Awareness Week.Interest in the week, which began on Monday and runs until Friday, has grown in past years.