ASMSU nears completion of its online text exchange

After months of work, ASMSU members put some of the finishing touches on the organization’s textbook exchange Web site Wednesday. MSU’s undergraduate student government will have the site running by the end of the semester, after it’s tested and all the details are worked out. The site will operate like a message board, in which students can set their own prices to exchange textbooks with other students. Jared English, an Academic Assembly representative for James Madison College, has been watching the site’s progress and said the timing couldn’t be better. “This would be the best time to use the site to the full potential, for both selling and buying,” he said. The international relations and finance sophomore said the book exchange should appeal to students because it’s free, unlike others that charge students.

Legislature could decrease Planned Parenthood money

A bill that would decrease state funding to Planned Parenthood is awaiting approval from the House Committee on Family and Children Services.

Protesters fight budget cuts for health care clinics

About 200 parents, students and legislators joined forces outside the state Capitol on Wednesday to protest the defunding of 19 health care clinics statewide.The clinics fell victim to state budget cuts earlier this month that reduced spending by more than $500 million in the wake of declining state revenue.The spending reductions will eliminate 75 percent of the money for the clinics, 14 of which are located on school grounds, protesters said.“The idea was to apply some pressure and let folks know at the Capitol that these are needed programs,” said Debbie De Leon, a member of the Ingham County Board of Commissioners.

Sigma Chi ready to return to house after renovations

Sigma Chi fraternity members will keep and maintain their chapter house with support from the alumni of the chapter’s board.The rental license at the fraternity house, 729 E.

ASMSU representative resigns

At the end of last Tuesday’s ASMSU Academic Assembly meeting, Monica Leslie, a representative for the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, calmly wished her colleagues a Happy Thanksgiving - then she resigned. Leslie, who has been active in MSU’s undergraduate student government, said she felt it was the appropriate time to inform everyone of her decision because she didn’t want to disrupt the business that needed to get done. The communication freshman said time commitments, internal conflicts and lack of communication with administrators were reasons for her resignation. “I wanted to learn how the system worked - and I learned a lot, but I still have a lot to learn,” Leslie said.

Police briefs 11/29/01

New license style may help curb underage drinking

Some state lawmakers are trying to make it harder for underage residents to purchase alcohol or tobacco products.In a plan by state Sen.

Local store saluted for outstanding art

Okemos - Bill and Michelle Haun might have thought they were going crazy. The couple own Crazy Horse Indian Jewelry Co., located in Meridian Mall, 1982 W.

LCC offers discounts for Guard members

Lansing - Lansing Community College is making it easier for members of the Michigan National Guard to complete college degrees. The college, 500 N.

Cohousing development coming soon to Lansing

Keeping up with the Joneses might take on a different meaning in Lansing.The Cohousing Development Co. purchased 23.8 acres at 3721 Aurelius Road in Lansing, which will be made into Meadowood Cohousing, the first cohousing neighborhood in Lansing.

Firstborn children more likely to contract allergies

Recent research conducted by an MSU professor discovered that firstborn children are more likely to suffer from asthma and other allergies.Wilfried Karmaus, an associate professor of epidemiology, found that firstborns have higher levels of cord blood immunoglobulin, a protein determined to be a risk factor for asthma and other allergies, such as hay fever.Karmaus said changes in the mother’s womb after the birth of a first child are reasons for the difference.“The immune system is changed to a different state,” he said.

Blacks to discuss social roles after 9-11 attacks

A public forum designed to discuss the role of blacks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will be held from 7 p.m.

Interracial couples stay together despite others prejudice, criticism

For Shannon Mayer and James Hopson, dating has created a few obstacles other couples may not have had to deal with - they are an interracial couple.Mayer, a parks and recreation senior who is Native American and white, and Hopson, who graduated from MSU last year and is Filipino and black, have been together for two years.

Liquor sales up since Sept. 11 attacks

The war on terrorism hasn’t stopped some people from tapping the Rockies.The week ending Sept.

Organization plans to improve U bike, pedestrian traffic

The future of bicycle and pedestrian traffic on campus and throughout the city will be changing in the coming years. A project combining the efforts of MSU’s Department of Campus Park and Planning and the city of East Lansing will evaluate how to extend the Lansing River Trail through the MSU campus and connect it to Meridian Township and East Lansing’s bike and hike trail system. The group of MSU staff, faculty and students, East Lansing and Meridian Township officials, area residents, the Michigan Department of Transportation, Rail to Trails and Ingham County Parks representatives began working on the project in earnest in July and came up with two different possible master plans.

Women honored for Polar Trek

Six women from Michigan battled the arctic cold to make a 150-mile trek across the North Pole in April.On Tuesday, those same women were honored with a luncheon and a plaque in a place a little warmer - the state Capitol.

Nonprofit organization awards U grants

The holiday spirit of giving might have overtaken the Michigan Great Lakes Protection Fund.Gov.

Forum of experts will address local residents terrorism concerns

State Rep. Virg Bernero will host a town hall meeting in Lansing on Thursday to allow residents to talk with experts on terrorism and bioterrorism.Representatives from the military, U.S.

U tuition bill due sooner than most schools

For college students, it seems two things are inevitable in life - tuition and taxes. The tuition is due first.At MSU, students must make an initial payment for spring semester by Dec.

Annexation case raises concerns of invasiveness

In October, the East Lansing city limits grew and the Meridian Township boundary lines shrank, but one issue remains unsettled in some minds - whether proper treatment was given to the one resident of the newly annexed property.Gerry Mannausa, co-owner of the 66-acre parcel of land known as Four Winds Golf Course, 5800 Park Lake Road, said unfair tactics were used by the township toward his nephew, Robert Mannausa, to determine if he was a legal resident of the property.Meridian Township sued Robert Mannausa and subpoenaed for several documents that Gerry Mannausa, who also served as his nephew’s lawyer, feels were unnecessary in the case.Some of these items included his draft card, health insurance card and policy, certificate of car insurance, credit card statements and cell phone bills for the previous five months.“By naming him as a party for this lawsuit, they were trying to get an injuncture to the election in November,” Gerry Mannausa said.