'Bond' brings animal lovers out in packs

Melissa Domsic Special for The State News The bond between a human and an animal is like love, veterinarian and author Marty Becker said in his presentation during the third annual Human-Animal Bond Initiative's Conference held Friday and Saturday at the Kellogg Center. "It's nebulous but easily understood by any of us that share our lives with pets," he said. Becker was one of many professionals that spoke at the conference on this year's theme, "The Science Behind Our Relationship With Animals: Cuddle a Critter and Call Me in the Morning." Lana Kaiser, a professor in the College of Nursing and of Human Medicine, is the coordinator of the Human-Animal Bond Initiative, an MSU-based group that brings people from on and off campus to study the human-animal bond. "Our goal is to enhance the understanding of the relationship between humans and animals," Kaiser said.

NAISO celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day today

Members of the North American Indigenous Student Organization will celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day on campus today. From 11 a.m.

Tigers broadcaster pitches Lansing charity campaign

Lansing - A line of people clutched worn baseballs and other memorabilia Saturday as they waited to meet Ernie Harwell and raise money for a local charity.

Local rivers 'not so bad'

Jen Veenstra held a small mason jar filled with water and debris from the Grand River to the light Saturday afternoon, carefully examining it for creatures, trying to determine the health of the water. The Lyman Briggs no-preference freshman spent the day with 17 other volunteers at various sites along the Red Cedar and Grand rivers collecting water samples.

E.L. council could receive pay raise

Members of the East Lansing City Council could receive a pay raise after November, should they choose to accept it.

State author to tell scary tales at library

With Halloween just around the corner, the Rev. Gerald S. Hunter will tell tales of ghosts and haunted places at 7 p.m.

Colleges vie for Olympic title

The winner of the competition gets to keep the trophy for a year.But this isn't the Stanley Cup - it's the first Lyman Briggs-James Madison Olympic Showdown."It's kind of like the Stanley Cup," said Jack Dodd, chairperson of the 14-member Lyman Briggs Student Advisory Council.

Students volunteer in 'the streets'

Armed with rakes, cleaning supplies, paint brushes and children's books, nearly 200 students went to the streets of Lansing and East Lansing on Saturday to volunteer.The kickoff of "Into the Streets," an MSU student-run community service organization, helped about 20 different nonprofit organizations.

Police briefs 10/13/03

Enrollment data finalized

MSU's enrollment decreased slightly from the 2002-03 year, despite an almost record level of applicants. The university received about 25,000 first-time undergraduate applicants for fall 2003, but the 44,542 students currently attending MSU are almost 400 students less than last year's total enrollment. Despite the decrease, David Byelich, MSU's director of the Office of Planning and Budgets, said this year's enrollment remains at a level where the university can optimize students' academic performance. "What we tried to do is remain stable at the 44,000 to 43,000 level," he said. MSU's enrollment has fluctuated between 43,000 and 45,000 students for the past five years. The enrollment figures were released to the public late last week. Pamela Horne, assistant to the provost for enrollment management and director of admissions, said university officials had planned on decreasing enrollment to about 44,000, but the state's budgetary problems might affect MSU's long-term enrollment planning. "All of this has to be looked at in terms of the budget and what the balance is going to be between tuition revenue and state revenue," she said.

Week raises disabled awareness

Many campus bathrooms aren't large enough for a wheelchair to maneuver, and none of the campus pay phones are equipped with Teletype, according to the The Council of Students with DisabilitiesAnd the council wants MSU students to understand the challenges they face on campus during Accessibility Awareness Week, which runs from today through Friday."It's a good way to get people to draw attention to the inaccessible areas on campus," said Melinda Haus, vice president of the council and organizer of the week.

Diversity sought in science

Lloyd Douglas said he thinks a band with only trombones would be dull.Similarly, the program director for the National Science Foundation said diversity is key to making scientific advances."Have you ever looked at the sheet music for West Side Story?" the former trombone player asked a group of MSU students and faculty Thursday night.

Volunteers to go 'into the streets' Saturday

Students looking for something to do on Saturday can interact and lend a helping hand with East Lansing citizens during the kickoff events of "Into the Streets." "Into the Streets" is intended to emphasize the importance of community service. The event is open to all MSU students and registration begins from 9 to 9:45 a.m.

Police briefs 10/10/03

Housing development deferred for 3rd time

Plans to build The Beaumont, a 40-acre housing development on Coleman Road, are once again being deferred from the East Lansing Planning Commission agenda after the developer asked for more time to modify his plans.

Silent auction tonight for shelter program

A silent auction to benefit the Lansing area domestic violence shelter program will be held this evening at Hannah Community Center. The End Violent Encounters Silent Auction: Changing Fortunes will be from 7-10 p.m.

Students angered by sexually explicit shirt flyers

Student leaders are angered at a sexually explicit flyer distributed on campus Tuesday night.The flyer, which bore the phrase "Wolverines Pack Fudge" above an explicit drawing, is an advertisement for shirts being sold with the same drawing.

Archive for virtual history of quilts completed

It's taken five years for MSU MATRIX coordinators and The Alliance for American Quilts to piece together a worldwide database to preserve hundreds of years of American quilt storytelling.The archive opened Monday and serves as a virtual collection to make the history and background of quilts across the nation available online."Quilts are folk culture, and over the last 20 years, we have come to realize that we can learn a lot about the time periods they came from," Mark Kornbluh, director of MATRIX, said.

Forum to address city noise ordinance

ASMSU leaders will host a forum tonight with East Lansing officials for students to express concerns about the city's stiffened policy on party noise. Student leaders and city officials are expected to address the policy and answer questions about the five-week-old ordinance that calls for jail time and steep fines for hosts of unruly parties. East Lansing police issued 11 citations under the policy during its first two weeks. Concerned students are conducting a petition drive in hopes of forcing the East Lansing City Council to reconsider the ordinance. The forum will begin at 7 p.m.

Swarms of bugs due to warm weather, do not harm humans

When Elizabeth Keson walks out of buildings, she sometimes gets attacked by a swarm of various ladybug-like insects."They're all over the doorways of all the buildings, so when you go in and out, they end up on your clothes," the food science sophomore said.