Looking up at the words she had written across a wall in Morrill Hall, Melissa Downing could not help but feel nostalgic. Morrill Hall is scheduled to be torn down in March 2013, and the English Department hosted A Literary Graffiti Project on Thursday to celebrate National Poetry Month and the department’s place in Morrill Hall.
Just in time for summer, a new ice cream shop will open its doors for business at 2850 E. Grand River Ave., in Okemos, on April 20. The shop, Twisters Soft-Serve Ice Cream, will be the eighth in a franchise that was started 12 years ago by owner Joe Spadafore, his brother and his father.
Emily McKay sees room for growth in urban farming, and she’s been cultivating her education to start her own plot. “There are so many opportunities that are popping up,” said the horticulture senior, who volunteers at a local children’s garden. “I’m not worried about finding a job.”
When Sarah McPharlin was 11 years old, she almost died. After catching an autoimmune virus that caused her body to attack her heart, she was hospitalized and eventually placed on the organ donation wait list — she needed a new heart. After 38 days on the list, the kinesiology senior underwent a heart transplant. Although McPharlin realizes how lucky she was to have her life saved by organ donation, many others still are waiting for that chance.
This weekend, MSU’s campus will be invaded by curious visitors and students of years past for the College of Natural Science’s third annual Science University event. Beginning Friday, about 140 alumni, faculty, staff, students and visitors are expected to make their way to MSU to attend an awards program for the college, tours of campus buildings and courses and presentations about the latest scientific happenings at MSU, Elizabeth Wheeler, College of Natural Science alumni relations coordinator, said in an email.
Lansing’s second annual Capital City Film Festival began rolling Thursday evening, with leaders and filmmakers gathering downtown for a red carpet opening celebration.
Born in Somalia, biomedical laboratory operations junior Salman Muridi holds the country close to his heart. But that’s not the only reason he cares about the famine currently affecting Somalians nationwide. “It’s not just the fact that that’s my homeland, it’s the fact that people are dying and nobody (is) doing anything about it,” he said.
An attempt at cooking dinner got a little out of hand at about 5:51 p.m. Wednesday when a kitchen fire erupted on the third floor of Building D in the 731 Burcham Apartment Complex, East Lansing Deputy Fire Chief Troy Brya said.
A giant 18-foot-tall inflatable hand holding an inhaler swayed in the wind next to the rock on Farm Lane on Wednesday afternoon while members of MSU Beyond Coal rallied against the Energy Transition Plan by singing songs, sharing stories and holding up 10-foot-tall wooden sunflowers.
Family community services junior Nikki Noel believes drinking and driving is one of the most preventable causes of death, yet in 2010 there were more than 600 DUIs given out by the East Lansing Police Department — an increase of nearly 200 from 2009. Noel is a member of Spartans Against Drunk Driving, or SADD, and Wednesday they joined MSU Police near the rock on Farm Lane to help raise awareness of the consequences of drunken driving.
Most students would be bothered trekking across campus to eat their meals for a semester, but general management freshman Erin Murphy doesn’t mind at all. In fact, she’s enthusiastic about the positive changes that will accompany the Shaw Hall cafeteria renovations.
Top city and state transportation officials joined U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., at a roundtable event Wednesday, calling for an increased federal commitment to local transportation funding that would be used to help streamline area bus transportation along Grand River and Michigan avenues. Officials from the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Capital Area Transportation Authority, or CATA, said uncertainties surrounding funding for transportation projects have made it difficult to plan for major infrastructure needs, including a local initiative that would spruce up the Michigan/Grand River Avenue Corridor.
Ten years ago, psychology senior Nikki Bishop wanted to play hockey, but her mom pressured her to play tennis.
The Residence Halls Association, or RHA, officially swore in its officers for the 2012-13 academic year at its Wednesday night meeting.
MSU innovations might be infiltrating the consumer market more quickly once a new Spartan Innovations LLC initiative announced Wednesday is up and running. The creation of a technology transfer enterprise called Spartan Innovations was unveiled at Wednesday’s second annual MSU Innovation Celebration at the Union, which also displayed numerous technologies and innovations made by MSU student and faculty inventors.
A new online software system could turn East Lansing City Council meetings into on-demand viewing, easing accessibility and transparency for residents and city staff. The council was introduced at its Tuesday night work session, held at City Hall, 410 Abbot Road, to a software system operated by Granicus, a nationwide technology company that works with local, state and national government bodies to promote transparency.
After undertaking extensive renovations and taking steps toward efficiency by updating office practices, the MSU Police Department is being honored for going green. The department recently was awarded a Green Certification, an initiative forwarded by MSU’s Office of Campus Sustainability meant to honor campus units that have attempted to reduce their environmental footprint, Office of Campus Sustainability Project Coordinator Lauren Olson said.
MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon reiterated her support for renovating Chittenden Hall to the representatives of the Council of Graduate Students, or COGS, Wednesday during the group’s last full council meeting of the year outside the building.
Like many first-year students, civil engineering freshman John Mandryk wasn’t sure how difficult the transition from high school to college would be. To help curb some of the confusion and anxiety of stepping onto MSU’s campus as a clueless freshman, Mandryk enrolled in the College of Engineering CoRe Experience, formerly known as the Engineering Residential Experience.
East Lansing Fire Department responded to a log on fire in the woods just north of the East Lansing Public Library, 950 Abbot Road.