State leadership celebrates Black History Month with music at Capitol

Lansing - With a choir swaying right to left behind her, 9-year-old Taylor Fowlkes belted out "Still I Rise" in front of a packed Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday. "I was nervous, then when I got into the middle part, I just got happy," she said. Fowlkes' performance was part of the annual Black History Month Celebration, which included dancing, a jazz performance and an appearance by Gov.

Greenhouse model hopes to raise awareness for project

Lights, waterfalls and fake foliage brought one student group's dream to life on Wednesday. A model of the proposed student greenhouse project was on display Wednesday in the Union. The model featured running water, working lights and detailed pathways of a biodome to grab the attention of students passing by. "There's a need for a public greenhouse on campus," education junior Zac Oppenheim said.

Police briefs 02/27/03

Applications available for graduation speech

Students looking to have their voice heard at the spring 2003 commencement ceremony now have their chance. Applications for a student commencement speaker are available in Room 101 Student Services. Those who wish to apply must submit a five-minute typed speech along with the application. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m.

Granholm: Tax hike not a possibility

Gov. Jennifer Granholm has considered a long list of possibilities to solve Michigan's budget problems, but one possibility she will not consider is a tax hike. "The governor has made it very clear in every public briefing that she has no intention of raising taxes," Granholm spokeswoman Elizabeth Boyd said. Next week, Granholm will present a balanced budget proposal to offset next year's $1.7-billion general fund deficit.

Academic Council passes changes to grad document

Three years of changes to a document that governs graduate students were approved by the Academic Council on Tuesday.The Graduate Student Rights and Responsibilities Document cements the rights of graduate students, lays out the steps for filing grievances and explains the processes for theses and dissertations.The document was created in 1971 and had not been modified since 1984, Graduate School Dean Karen Klomparens said.The changes must be approved by the MSU Board of Trustees to be considered official.Among the changes to the document is a mention of the Graduate Employees Union, which was formally recognized in April 2001."We needed to catch up and recognize the contracted union," she said.Minor word changes also needed to be made to the document to stay current with the times, while substantive changes were made to clarify language, she said.References to "typing" when referring to a thesis or dissertation were amended to include "word processing." The new document also guarantees legal representation to graduate students accused of a criminal offense, said chemistry graduate student Sam Howerton, who was president of the Council of Graduate Students three years ago when the changes began.Howerton said these changes were made with a desire to improve the university but will probably go unnoticed by most students."This document is transparent to most graduate students except for those few individuals who end up having problems," he said.

Olin, RHA team up to bring 'U' 10,000 free condoms

About 10,000 free condoms will be distributed on campus in the next few days, in an effort to increase health awareness. The Residence Halls Association and Olin Health Center are heading up the initiative after releasing the results of a recent health survey.

Consumers spend, invest less

Consumers may be less confident to spend and invest during "sluggish" economic times due in part to a weak labor market and the looming war in Iraq, according to a recent consumer survey.The Consumer Confidence Index, a survey of consumer expectations and present conditions, fell to the lowest level since October 1993.

Senior Class Council deadline approaches

Applications are available to join the Senior Class Council for the 2003-2004 academic year. Any junior or returning senior is eligible to sign up. The deadline to apply is Thursday.

Few applications received for ASMSU seats, deadline today

Adam Raezler's ASMSU application almost didn't make it into the pile because of a little confusion his freshman year. "It was the first time I'd been to that end of campus and I got lost," the political theory and constitutional democracy sophomore said. Raezler said just as he was considering giving up, he found the building and now sits on the MSU undergraduate student government's Academic Assembly as a representative for James Madison College. Applications are due by 4:30 p.m.

Study: One-fifth of drinkers aren't 21

Underage drinkers account for one-fifth of all alcohol consumption in the U.S., according to a recent national study.The study, conducted by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, reported youths between the ages of 12 and 20 years old amount to 19.7 percent of alcohol consumption in the nation.The study, which was released in Tuesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, said the total of underage drinking amounts to about $22.5 billion in sales.The results came from a 10-month analysis of three sets of data, including figures from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, which involved more than 50,000 people aged 12 and older polled in 1999.The article, "Alcohol Consumption and Expenditures for Underage Drinking and Adult Excessive Drinking," also used figures from several national and federal institutions."The value of this survey points to a huge problem that has been around for some time," National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism spokeswoman Ann Bradley said.

Professor from Virginia to head up new Environmental Sciences, Policy program

In an effort to make multi-disciplinary environmental science missions across campus more visible, MSU's Board of Trustees approved the Environmental Sciences and Policy program at its February meeting. The program will be headed by Thomas Dietz, an environmental science and public policy professor from George Mason University in Virginia. "Michigan State does world-class research, education and outreach in environmental science and policy," Dietz said in a written statement. "Our new program will make the work more visible, make it more easily available to those who have to make decisions about the environment and, by making links across the field, lead to better science and better decisions," he said. Currently, MSU's classes, research and outreach programs in environmental science are spread throughout several departments and colleges in the university, including the colleges of social science, natural science and agriculture and natural resources. The new program will allow undergraduate and graduate students to specialize in environmental science and policy. Provost Lou Anna Simon said the new program will allow the university to focus and align its environmental science strengths for the advantage of students and faculty. "MSU has an enormous amount of strengths around the university in environmental science," Simon said.

Police briefs 02/26/03

Student charged in racially charged flier faces pre-trial

The pre-trial of the MSU student accused of posting a racially offensive flier in Shaw Hall will take place at 9 a.m.

Speaker addresses 'anti-American' sentiment, war with Iraq

Conservative speaker Daniel J. Flynn is bringing his message on "Why the Left Hates America" to MSU today. Flynn will speak at 7:30 p.m.

Cuts to life sciences might hinder research

After last week's $12.5-million cut to Michigan's Life Sciences Corridor, MSU researchers competing for grant money from the program are worried about their research.The cut, which is part of Gov.

Activists to receive LBGT awards

History junior Ebon Pinson said a lot of people don't tend to understand lesbian, bisexual, gay or transgender people. "They have their own biases and prejudices," Pinson, founder and president of MSU Same Gender Loving Students of Color, International students and Allies said, adding the misunderstanding is the reason he spends so much time trying to straighten out misconceptions. "Many people don't understand that LBGT is a culture," he said.

Schools embrace B.R.A.D.'s message

In about four years, an alcohol abuse awareness program that originated at MSU has spread to 73 schools nationwide.

Survey: greeks succeed

A survey of 500 of the Forbes Super 500 showed almost a quarter of its CEOs were members of greek organizations in college.MSU Greek Life adviser Amy Radford said when most students join a fraternity or sorority, they might not realize the benefits it might offer in the long run."Students tend not to see beyond MSU," she said.

ASMSU honoring late director

ASMSU is moving forward with plans to establish a scholarship and to rededicate its conference room in honor of the late Charles Beachnau.Beachnau, who was the MSU undergraduate student government's association director, died in June of a heart attack.