East Lansing officials are hoping more residents will pull out their crystal balls and forecast the future.The city is holding the Big Picture event from 1-5:30 p.m.
With free time becoming scarcer, businesses are developing classes for Web users who desire to continue their learning. And a local parks department has taken notice. The Lansing Parks and Recreation Department has jumped on the bandwagon offering seven online courses this winter. “More and more, a lot of community ad agencies and school districts are going into (Web courses),” said Denise Lynch, special recreation services coordinator. “We’re just following the trend.” The classes range from “Organize or Agonize” to “How to Start a Home Based Business.” “Normally, when you offer a class and one person signs up you have to cancel the class because you’re dealing with a classroom and an instructor,” she said. “There’s really no minimum for a class because you’re not dealing with an actual 24-hour classroom.” Lynch said online classes offer an alternative for those who wouldn’t be able to fit a traditional class into their schedules. “The only way they would have to come to one of our facilities is if they want to pay in person,” she said. Growth Strategies, a company that sells the classes to the department, has offered them since 2000. The company had offered adult-enrichment classes previous to the online endeavor, but Gary Fugere, president of Growth Strategies, saw an opportunity after listening to complaints of courses not being offered in areas where there was an interest. “I was just a step above a novice computer user,” Fugere said. “I’m an entrepreneur and can smell an opportunity from 100 miles away.” The transition has worked out well for students and for Global Strategies, which offers nine online classes. Compared to many online or dot-com businesses, Fugere has been able to find a market niche, albeit a small one, in which his company can make money. “I’m in one of the most unique markets of all,” he said. “I’m there for Joe Six-pack who says, ‘I’m there because I need some information,’ and he reaches into his wallet and pays for the class.” It is that type of reasoning that could allow for a sustainable online adult-education program, said John Dirkx, MSU associate professor of educational administration. “I hope it grows and I hope it develops but there are a lot of pitfalls along the way,” Dirkx said. For more information on the Lansing Parks and Recreation Department’s online courses, go online at www.parks.cityoflansingmi.com.
Since Shawn Henn came to MSU, he’s bounced between residence halls - but he’s never left campus.The electrical engineering senior signed up this week to live in Wilson Hall next year.
Emma Tai and Brian Root-Bernstein never expected it -perfection caught them off-guard.The 17-year-old East Lansing High School seniors both scored 1600s on 2001 administrations of the SATs.“I was really surprised,” Tai said.
Olin Health Center is hosting an open house today to showcase its newly renovated front lobby and pharmacy.The open house will take place from 8:30-11:30 a.m.
When city council members abandoned a proposal Monday night that would have ended the broadcast of some public comments and voted on a new proposal, some citizens had mixed reactions.The council voted 6-2 to shorten the amount of time the public has to speak, hoping to end what some council members call “theatrics.”Community activist John Pollard said he is not happy the public is losing three minutes.
Jennifer Cousineau, a psychology sophomore, hasn’t lived in East Lansing long but already has established a firm relationship with Jacobson Stores, Inc.“I like it because it has a lot of designer brands that are hard to find,” the California native said.
MSU science students normally don’t spend a day with an internationally known theoretical physicist - but this week is different. Brian Greene, a professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University, is the first of two speakers in this year’s McPherson Professorship program. The professorship was created last year after an anonymous donor gave $2 million to the university.
The Council of Graduate Students will hold its first meeting of the semester at 5 p.m. today in the International Center Spartan Rooms B and C.The meeting will focus on the state of international student applications with emphasis on how anti-terrorism legislation passed last year will affect them.
Lansing - Economists presented a gloomy economic forecast for Michigan legislators Tuesday, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.“A slower economy and fewer jobs means less revenue,” said MSU economics Professor Charles Ballard.
Although it’s still two months away, planning for the Midwest Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Ally College Conference is already under way.The event will be held March 15-17 at the Kellogg Center, and will feature workshops, caucus groups and presentations about issues such as battling homophobia.
Gone are the days when bleary-eyed, late-night computer lab assistants waited at a desk to help out other exhausted students.This semester, the computer labs will not be constantly monitored by lab assistants.
Derek Rodriguez spends some of his time at local textbook stores.But the East Lansing police officer isn’t buying books, he is catching people selling stolen textbooks.“Generally people are trying to sell back stolen books and say they are selling it for a friend,” he said.
Although the greek system at Indiana University at Bloomington will have an organization available for lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgendered students, some MSU students say such an idea might not be successful in East Lansing.Delta Lambda Phi is the first fraternity catering to gay students at Indiana.
The East Lansing City Council will vote Tuesday on a change to the city’s voting precincts.The precincts needed to be changed once the 2000 federal census had been completed to reflect population changes in the city detected by the election commission.“Everyone in East Lansing will have a new precinct number,” East Lansing City Clerk Sharon Reid said.The city was forced to combine different precincts after the census because of population shifts and requirements made for boundaries to be real, or along actual streets and roads within the city.Along with the new precinct numbers, four locations would be added to the list of voting locations for this year.An attempt was made to keep the original locations, but areas like the Union and Case Hall would be removed.If the revision passes, the locations on campus will be Owen Graduate Hall, Akers Hall and Wilson Hall.
For the first time in the history of East Lansing, ASMSU’s Academic Assembly and city council are collaborating to gain a better understanding of student and city issues. Mayor Mark Meadows and Academic Assembly Chairperson Matt Clayson, decided this meeting would be a valuable opportunity for the entire community. ASMSU is the undergraduate student government. Clayson, who worked with city council officials to organize tonight’s agenda, said he is looking forward to the joint meeting. “It will be a learning experience for me to see how a small city government operates rather than just an academic government,” Clayson said. But more than focusing on the operating strategies each body possesses, Clayson said he would like to build an academic relationship with the city.
Don Jordan felt the sting of tuition last year, but didn’t bother to feel the pain again April 15. He didn’t fill out his tax forms. He said the forms were to confusing and he was too lazy. “One thing that really gets me is there are so many forms,” he said.
After 25 years of preaching, Nathaniel Thomas still gets nervous every time he approaches the podium.
Many lawmakers expect Michigan’s budget woes to be reinforced at a meeting with economists today in the Capitol. The directors of the House and Senate fiscal agencies as well as Treasurer Doug Roberts will report to lawmakers on how much the state can expect to collect in taxes this year.