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MSU

Commencement speakers chosen

Three high-profile men were selected to give commencement speeches to MSU’s graduates for December’s ceremonies.Raymond Kurzweil, developer of the world’s first print-to-speech reading machine for the blind, Alejandro Junco de la Vega, a journalist and newspaper publisher from Mexico, and Jeffrey N.

MSU

Museum displays St. Nick exhibit

A Santa Claus collection is coming to town.The annual exhibit of Val Berryman’s expansive Father Christmas collection will go on display at the MSU Museum today.“I started picking things up in 1983,” the curator of history for the MSU Museum said.

MSU

Offender Web site may benefit students

Some university officials wonder: Are students concerned about receiving public information about sexual perpetrators at MSU? A small group of students and staff met last weekend to discuss whether students need to be better informed about the Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry, a Web site that lists the names of convicted sexual offenders in Michigan. The information is organized by ZIP code and includes an offenders’ address, physical description, date of birth and some data about the type of crime committed. Ann Bolger, director of Residence Life, said the university’s current policy is to make MSU staff members aware that the site can inform students.

MSU

U lands portion of grant for African American studies

As MSU joins the ranks of universities that are paving the way in African American studies, the journey will now be made a little easier.The university is slated to share a $600,000 grant from the Ford Foundation - an organization committed to providing grants and loans to projects that advance human achievement - with four other universities that are part of the Midwest Consortium for Black Studies.The consortium consists of a group of research and teaching faculty at MSU, the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin at Madison and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.MSU will use its share of the grant to develop undergraduate- and graduate-level African American studies programs.“African American studies is a growing dynamic field of academic inquiry,” said Curtis Stokes, a James Madison College professor.Stokes is one of the project directors who will be overseeing the use of the grant.

MICHIGAN

Cops increase patrols

More than 400 law enforcement agencies across the state, many in mid-Michigan, are stepping up traffic patrol during the Thanksgiving holiday as part of “Operation Click It or Ticket.”Operation Click it or Ticket is the Michigan mobilization effort of Buckle Up America and Operation ABC Mobilization: America Buckles Up Children, two nationwide safety campaigns.The campaign, sponsored by the Office of Highway Safety Planning, will publicize Michigan’s new mandatory safety belt law, which passed in March.

MSU

Council chooses speakers

With their undergraduate careers drawing to a close, MSU seniors Eric Stoddard and Ben Kronk figured they had been through it all.That is, until they were selected as the student speakers for their Dec.

MICHIGAN

Study to guide E.L. housing development

The city of East Lansing will begin a housing study Dec. 1 to see if there is a market for different types of housing such as town houses and condominiums.The idea for the study came from past city council discussions and other boards and commissions, said Angela Cheney, an analyst for community and economic development.“First, we had a big group meeting, involving a city council member, planning members and the assistant city manager,” Cheney said.

MICHIGAN

Ex-NFL player starts business

LANSING - Former NFL player Lonnie Young is helping others go the whole nine yards in Lansing. In October, Young and wife Lisa opened a branch office of Express Personnel Services, 6437 S.

MSU

New Extension director looks to maintain growth

The MSU Extension will undergo a changing of the guard of sorts next semester when Margaret Bethel takes over as the acting director.Extension is the university’s statewide initiative that offers educational and informational resources to residents in dozens of Michigan communities.

MICHIGAN

Lansing to hold hearings on housing code revisions

LANSING - The city council will host public hearings tonight on changes being made to the capital city’s Housing Code.The council radically changed the code two years ago and had promised to review the code a couple years after the revisions were made.The changes made this year come from putting the code in compliance with the International Property Maintenance Code 2000 so the code would be uniform with other U.S.

MICHIGAN

City council to discuss traffic lights, parking

For the first time since Oct. 17, the East Lansing City Council will hold a meeting to discuss issues like pedestrian-activated traffic lights and free parking downtown during the shopping season.The council has the opportunity to approve pedestrian-activated crosswalk lights.

MICHIGAN

Greeks aid the blind in week of fun events

Delta Gamma sorority’s Anchor Splash philanthropy event culminated on Saturday in the pool at IM-Sports West as the greek system made waves to aid the blind. During the weeklong event, 20 fraternities competed in an array of activities, such as lip-synching and synchronized swimming, to benefit the Delta Gamma national philanthropy foundation, Aid to the Blind. Colleen Booza, the Delta Gamma coordinator of Anchor Splash, said outstanding fraternity participation made this year’s event one of the more memorable in recent years. “Seeing (the events) all come together was the most rewarding part,” the criminal justice sophomore said.