State News The
Graduate student Apryl Pooley holds up a sign Saturday during the V-Day March from the MSU Union, 49 Abbot Road., to the Wharton Center on 750 E. Shaw Lane. Individuals taking part in the march held signs protesting sexual violence and rape culture. photo: alice kole
March raises awareness of sexual assault and violence
See page 6
Men’s basketball falls to Wisconsin on the road, 68-61
See page 4
Photo courtesy Jason Chan / The Badger Herald M on day, M a r c h 2 , 2 015
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Contents
61 da i ly N u m b e r
i ns i d e
‘The Vagina Monologues’ provokes discussion about sexuality
An outburst at a Board of Trustees meeting last December has led to charges
MSU NPHC celebrates culture through annual step show
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“Now that the critical exploration of black plights, successes and histories is no longer an obligatory and societal venture, can we begin to question some of those routine practices referenced (in the column)?”
Blocked shots by junior Travis Walsh during the ice hockey game against Minnesota. Read more on page 10.
Rashad Timmons, president of the Black Student Alliance on continuing Black History Month through the year. See page 3. Spanish senior Sarah Greer performs for the last time with Spartan Sur Saturday during their concert at Kellogg Center. The concert poked fun at IndianAmerican stereotypes through skits and song. Read more on page 7. photo: kennedy thatch
UPCOMING INFORMATION MEETINGS
FRANCE, BELGIUM International Communication and the International Workplace in Paris and Brussels Summer 2015 Mon., Mar. 2 • 12:00 pm - 177 Communication Arts and Sciences Mon., Mar. 2 • 7:00 pm - 191 Communication Arts and Sciences Tues., Mar. 3 • 4:00 pm - 191 Communication Arts and Sciences
PHILIPPINES University of the Philippines - Los Banos Fall 2015, Spring 2016 Thurs., Mar. 5 • 4:00 pm - 302 International Center
STUDY ABROAD ADVISING CENTER International Center, Room 108 Walk-in Hours: 10 am - 2 pm Monday-Thursday or by appointment Phone: (517) 353-8920/ Email: osapa@msu.edu Web: studyabroad.msu.edu
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VOL . 105 | NO. 104 Contact The State News (517) 432-3000 Newsroom/Corrections (517) 432-3070 feedback@statenews.com General Manager Marty Sturgeon (517) 432-3000 Advertising M-F, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (517) 432-3010 advertising Manager Kelsey Taber
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Colophon The State News design features Acta, a newspaper type system created by DSType Foundry. The State News is published by the students of Michigan State University, Monday through Friday during the academic year. Subscription rates: $5 per semester on campus; $125 a year, $75 for one fall or spring semester, $60 for summer semester by mail anywhere in the continental United States. One copy of this newspaper is available
free of charge to any member of the MSU community. Additional copies $0.75 at the business office only. State News Inc. is a private, nonprofit corporation. Its current 990 tax form is available for review upon request at 435 E. Grand River Ave. during business hours. editorial staff (517) 432-3070 Editor-in-chief Celeste Bott managing editor Anya Rath
BREAKING NEWS EDITOR Simon Schuster TRENDS AND ISSUES EDITOR Olivia Dimmer SPORTS EDITOR Geoff Preston FEATURES EDITOR Casey Holland PHOTO EDITOR Erin Hampton COPY CHIEF Elena Cronick OPINION EDITOR Greg Monahan Copyright © 2014 State News Inc., East Lansing, Mich.
Opinion
Greg Monahan Opinion editor opinion@statenews.com @thesnewsopinion
Free community college won’t deter students from MSU
by rachel Fradette Rfradette@Statenews.com
President Barack Obama has said he hopes to fund a government program that will entail two free years of community college for students who hold good academic standing throughout those two years. The White House says it could save the average community college student $3,800 a year, according to reports. The proposal has great traction, but it also could fall through as merely wishful thinking. If successful, the program could assist 9 million people. Clearly community college is not just full of teenagers, but rather students who are older and trying to work a part-time job while receiving an education. The plan would require students to be only part-time, provided they are working as well. What can two years at a community college gain for those who had no previous higher education? It can create job opportunities, field certifications that can lead to a job, eventual financial support and earned credits that can be put toward a bachelor’s degree for students
who choose to transfer to a four-year college. The result could be extremely beneficial to many Americans, but funding for America’s College Promise could become a tricky process. A legitimate plan has not been proposed to congress. Vagueness and failure to fulfill a promise could quickly kill this idea. If the program were to be put into effect, what would this mean for MSU students? Would current four-year students suffer? The cost for funding would be nearly $60 billion over the span of 10 years. But some people are against the Obama’s program because they believe the best way to go about funding is to give more money to the existing Federal Pell Grant Program. One argument is that if the program is put into effect, it might jump start a migration from four-year universities, like MSU, to community colleges. I don’t think this should be a large concern for any established university. The basis of the program, if it succeeds, is to promote higher education — not take away from it. That being said, I think the Federal Pell Grant Program would be a better program to put government money toward. Obama’s plan has great intention, but could lead to big issues, such as funding, rather than success. The plan is very much still in its infancy, and it could be tweaked to address all the potential problems alarming individuals. As a whole, MSU should keep an eye on this particular legislation, but it should not be any real threat to campus tuition and life.
Deon Howard
O p i n i o n Po ll To day ’ s q u e s t i o n
What is your opinion of President Obama’s plan to offer free community college to potential students?
F r i day ’ s r e s u lt s
Will you be staying in Michigan for spring break, or are you leaving this cold, desolate wasteland? 54%—Staying here, and I hate my life. 46%—I’M LEAVING!!!!!
To vote, visit statenews.com Total votes: 54 as of 4 p.m. sunday
LETTER: Black History Month is over. Where do we go from here? Most of us, at the close of January, were probably questioning our staunch devotion to resolutions made, feigning our commitment to the mantra of starting the semester off strong, counting the days until the everso-elusive spring break, or performing an artful combination of the three. Oh, and watching Netflix. Lots and lots of Netflix. Somewhere amidst this spiral of things, however, we got to the month of February — the shortest month of the year, also widely observed as Black History Month. For a long 28 days, we paid our dutiful, very selective attention to historical black figures who made significant contributions to this country. In 1926 Carter G. Woodson proposed Negro History Week, but for the last 39 years, we have demonstrated our absolute respect for black people by acknowledging them for not one, not two, but FOUR momentous weeks. Congratulations. Same as every February, right on schedule, we pulled out our trusted quotes of love, equality and peace. We chanted those four, larger-than-life words — “I have a dream” — often failing to recognize that in many respects our nation is still sleeping (see segregation indexes, voter identification laws, secondary labor markets, etc.). We plastered our most prized pictures of Martin, maybe Malcolm, maybe Garvey, never Ella or Fannie Lou or Bayard, on walls, pages and timelines with the utmost pride. We shouted, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” while black bodies, criminalized and underrepresented, funneled into our prison population (see The New Jim Crow). We repeated the rhetorical hymns of “Let Freedom Ring” and “content of my character.” We exclaimed that now little black boys and black girls can join hands with little white boys and white girls as brothers and sisters. We called this progress. We failed to mention that this reality is being compromised and that black students are suspended and expelled at a rate three times greater than white students. Still, we recited the speech — not the full speech, of course — but the parts that fit into our linear, egalitarian narrative of racial progress in America. We omitted lines such as, “We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police Monday, Marc h 2 , 2 01 5
brutality” and “America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds.” Those lines did not serve our purposes. We replaced reparations with reverie. We ignored King’s assertion that “America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned,” perhaps out of honest ignorance, maybe out of the cringe-worthy, collegiate fear evoked by the word default. For 28 days, we shared our palatable versions of black history. And now, February is over. Now that there is no longer a nationally mandated commitment to foregrounding the narratives of very particular black peoples, can we begin to explore black history thoroughly, rigorously and maybe the most important, holistically? Now that the critical exploration of black plights, successes and histories is no longer an obligatory and societal venture, can we begin to question some of those routine practices referenced above? Or is it back to business as usual? The immediate past, if nothing else, has revealed to us that our nation has yet to genuinely confront the relationship it has with race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, class and their inherent politicization. The social turmoil that persists in this nation correlates directly to the suppression of marginalized peoples in a society that gallantly parades the ideas of truth, justice and freedom. If we truly believe the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice, then we must begin to acknowledge and actively listen to the voices of the oppressed. We must listen with the intent to understand and rectify. We must counter passivity and silence. We must unearth the rich, nuanced narratives of black struggle and agency that are further subdued by sexism, heteronormativity and gender binaries. We must learn and honor the diversity within blackness. This requires more than just a four-week stint in black history, couched in neoliberalism. This requires introspection, empathy, courage, compassion, understanding and sincerity. So, congratulations again. We made it through February. Now we have another 11 months to go. #BlackHistoryYear Rashad Timmons is a journalism senior at MSU and the president of Black Student Alliance
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Spotlight
Anya Rath Managing editor arath@statenews.com @thesnews
Close final score misleading, MSU outplayed by Wisconsin Wisconsin forward Nigel Hayes attempts a shot over junior guard Denzel Valentine Sunday during the game at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin. The Spartans were defeated by the Badgers, 68-61. Photo courtesy Jason Chan / The Badger Herald
The men’s basketball team suffered a devastating 68-61 loss to Wisconsin, proving to be no match for the Badgers’ size and their superstar senior forward Frank Kaminsky. The Spartans are tied for fourth in the Big Ten race as of Sunday night
The men’s basketball team lost by seven points, but the game was nowhere near as close as the final score indicated. Behind 31 points and nine rebounds from senior forward and Naismith College Player of The Year candidate Frank Kaminsky, No. 5 Wisconsin (263 overall, 14-2 Big Ten) clinched the Big Ten regular season title with a 68-61 victory over MSU (19-10, 10-6) on Sunday. Men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo said Kaminsky was one of the best players in the nation last Friday, and Kaminsky backed that sentiment up against the Spartans. “We didn’t play great, but Frank Kaminsky, that kid made some plays,” Izzo said. “He hit some shots with his right hand and with his left hand, he made passes, he played pretty good defense. I’ve never been so impressed with a player in our league since maybe Big Dog (Glenn Robinson)
back in the day. I thought the kid was sensational.” Despite strong shooting from beyond the arc (9-for-17), MSU was outmatched by Wisconsin’s size. The Badgers out-rebounded MSU 35 to 24. Wisconsin only allowed nine free throw attempts by the Spartans, of which they hit four. Junior guard Bryn Forbes led MSU with 21 points on 8-for-9 shooting and hit all five of his 3-point attempts. Senior guard Travis Trice, who re-entered the starting lineup for Forbes, had 16 points. Junior guard Denzel Valentine added 10 points, six assists and five rebounds. Men’s basketball head coach benched senior guard Branden Dawson to “challenge him,” according to his pre-game radio show. The move backfired, as Dawson looked disengaged throughout the game and finished with just four points and two rebounds. After the game, Dawson revealed his son came down with pneumonia Friday, which could be a reason why Dawson seemed distracted Sunday. The player who replaced Dawson in the lineup,
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By Omari Sankofa II osankofa@statenews.com
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freshman forward Marvin Clark Jr., didn’t play well enough to justify the switch. Clark missed all three of his shot attempts and was replaced for Dawson at the 16:59 mark after airballing a 3-pointer. MSU missed seven of their first eight shots, but took the lead, 11-10, at 11:19 of the first half after three consecutive triples — two from Forbes and one from Trice. Kaminsky kept Wisconsin in the game, knocking down back-to-back triples to put the Badgers up 19-15 with 7:01 to play. By that point, Kaminsky and sophomore forward Nigel Hayes, who finished with 14 points, had all of Wisconsin’s points. A jumper by sophomore guard Bronson Koenig capped off a 15-4 Wisconsin run that gave the Badgers a 26-17 lead with 4:28 to play. A 15-0 Wisconsin run dating back to the first half gave essentially ended the game early in the second half, as Hayes hit a jumper at the 14:29 mark to expand Wisconsin’s lead to 22, 49-27. MSU began to show some life later in the peri-
od. Valentine, who had a quiet first half, drained a 3-pointer at the 6:10 mark to cut Wisconsin’s lead to 14. Trice followed with a layup on the following possession. Forbes made a corner 3-pointer with 2:28 on the clock to bring the Spartans within 11 points, but Kaminsky had no intention of allowing a comeback, hitting a one-handed bank shot to give Wisconsin enough cushion to close out the win. “I’m very disappointed in missing free throws and not giving ourselves a chance, but as I told my team, you have two or three best players, and every team has got them,” Izzo said. “I’d like to play that game without Kaminsky, or with Kaminsky playing badly. They’ve earned it and they deserve it.” With the loss, MSU has two potentially difficult games this week — Wednesday at home against Purdue and Saturday on the road against Indiana — before the Big Ten tournament. As of Sunday night, MSU is tied for fourth in the Big Ten race.
News
Riffing on repression, violence and the joy of self-discovery Issues of women’s equity were spread wide open this weekend through the annual production of ‘The Vagina Monologues,’ a series of dramatized by spoken-word stories exploring the relationship with that part of the female anatomy Graduate student Kathryn Mara performs a monologue Friday during “The Vagina Monologues” at Wharton Center, 750 E. Shaw Lane The show was originally written by Eve Ensler, and was directed at MSU by media and Information senior Laura E. Swanson and Janelle Moulding. PHOTO: Alice Kole
By Katie Winkler Kwinkler@statenews.com
Female students took the stage at Wharton Center for the debut of “The Vagina Monologues” last Friday with the intention to break boundaries about an uncomfortable topic and create awareness of sexual violence through personal stories. “I hope that people take away the fact that vaginas are amazing and not something to be ashamed of — being a woman is not something to be ashamed of,” sexual assault director and adviser of “The Vagina Monologues” Janelle Moulding said. “There is power in that, and just like every other person, we deserve to live lives free of violence.” The 17th annual showing at MSU filled the Pasant Theatre, where attendees chuckled at the dramatized and realistic speeches explaining women’s stories. Women were interviewed by the global activist movement group, V-Day, for the production. These speeches were a way for students to
represent a variety of women who have been a more broad you can cover, the bigger audivictim of sexual or domestic violence. Perfor- ence you can have and the more possibility mances exemplified those of all sexual orienta- you have in touching them,” she said. They interchanged between comedic monotions, those from developing nations who expelogues personifying vaginas, rience genital mutilation and where the actors were asked those oppressed by poverty “I think that it’s what they would wear, say and abuse. and do, and a serious tone T he monolog ue ca l led difficult to cover with the “My Short Skirt” “They Beat the Girl Out of every single monologue, where journalMy Boy,” performed by kineindividual person, ism sophomore Kaliyah Jetsiology junior Alexis Bailey, ton spoke about misconceptheatre sophomore Rebecbut I think this tions of rape and women’s ca MacCreery and human show does a good wardrobe choices. biology alumna Erin Watts, job on touching “I think it’s just recognizing focused on the hardships and that it is a really well-roundbullying that came along on a lot of ed experience,” Moulding with growing up transgender people’s issues.” said. “That, just like being and how they felt misplaced a human, … being a womin their lives and bodies. Laura Swanson, The Vagina an is not all happy, not all T he show at tempt s to Monologues co-director wonderful and it also shows touch on a variety of womsome pretty harsh truths, ens issued, media and information senior and “The Vagina Monologues” like rape, incest and violence. That’s all a reality for women.” co-director Laura Swanson said. About one-third of the show changes each “I think that’s really important because the Monday, Marc h 2 , 2 01 5
year to address more marginalized groups, Swanson said, while the rest stays consistent because those specific skits resonate with a large audience. All proceeds from “The Vagina Monologues” performances went to The Firecracker Foundation — a 2-year-old nonprofit dedicated to providing therapy to children who have survived sexual assault and healing them once they have been traumatized. The show ended with the directors and producers asking audience members to stand. First, they stood if they have been affected by sexual violence, then if someone they knew has been affected and finally, to stand if they wanted to end sexual violence for all women. By the end of the third question, the entire audience was on its feet. “The big thing for me is making sure that we educate people, that people are aware that these things are happening to women all over the world … that it is not just a singular (woman) issue,” communications and political science senior and co-producer Herasanna Richards said. Th e Stat e N e ws
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Olivia Dimmer and Simon Schuster Trends and issues editor Breaking news editor campus@statenews.com @thesnews
Protest takes aim at rape culture, spreads awareness “We would like to be able to apply for grants through MSU in the future, and this would require opening a MSU Students for Choice marched financial account through the uniacross campus Saturday afternoon versity,” Tausk said. She said t he g roup could not to support women who have been affected by sexual assault or domes- afford to open an account in the past because of the monthly fees, but is tic violence. now able to thanks The “V-Day March” to $300 raised thowas originally schedrugh a GoFundMe uled for Valentine’s “We all know campaign, Day, but was pushed someone who has The group took to back to Feb. 28 due to been domestically Grand River Aveharsh weather conditions and to coinor sexually abused. nue to chant while advocating the end cide with the sched... it’s time to of sexual violence uling of MSU’s Vagistop being quiet on campus. na Monologues. “We march along Students left from about that.” Grand River for visthe Union carr ying abilit y,” prenurssigns promoting conAlicia Geniac, MSU Students ing sophomore and sent and healthy relafor Choice co-president co-president Caytionships and arrived ley Winters said. at Wharton Center for “We need to bring the 2 p.m. matinee awareness to the masses.” performance. The group may have been small in One Billion Rising served as an inspiration for the event, a cause that numbers but was large in pride as exists to end violence against the one members like accounting junior Mitch in three women who will experience Ostrowsk proudly called out the One violence or rape in their lifetime. The Billion Rising name. At Wharton Center, a table was march was dedicated to supporting victims and bringing about a revolu- set up outside the theater doors by tion in sexual assault policies and col- co-president Alicia Geniac. The members were offering information and lege campuses and worldwide. Supporters who could not make free condoms and accepting donations it to the march were encouraged to for their cause. “We all know someone who has been donate online to Students for Choice’s domestically or sexually abused,” GoFundMe page. Social work junior Ariel Tausk, trea- Geniac said. “And it’s time to stop surer for the organization, set up the being quiet about that.” The group was also recruiting mempage to help with the cost of food and supplies for events including bers for their weekly meetings and to World AIDS Day last December and a help educate the university community about reproductive health and rights. planned “Sextival” in the spring. By AJ Moser
amoser@statenews.com
Online To see more of the march, go to statenews. com/ multimedia
Members of MSU Students for Choice march Saturday during the V-Day March from the MSU Union, 49 Abbot Road, to Wharton Center on 750 E. Shaw Lane. photo: alice kole
Arrest at trustees meeting leads to charges for alumnus By Michael Kransz mkransz@statenews.com
At the Dec. 12 Board of Trustees meeting, MSU alumnus Noah Saperstein was arrested for disorderly conduct after the announcement of MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon’s raise. He has plead not guilty and intends to fight the charge. Saperstein’s attorney, Joshua Covert, said he believes the arrest was a way of silencing dissent, and that Saperstein — a known activist on campus — was targeted. Since 2007, Simon has rejected salary increases offered to her, but at the December meeting she did not turn down the board’s raise, accepting a salary increase of $230,000 and a $100,000 bonus, raising her total compensation to $850,000 and making her the third-highest paid president of a Big Ten university. It wasn’t announced beforehand that Simon would accept the pay raise, so when alumnus Noah Saperstein stood up and spoke in opposition, interrupting the meeting’s proceedings, he violated a rule that said all public commenters must register 48 hours in advance. Saperstein said the question he posed was roughly, “If the university hires adjunct and associate faculties to cut costs, why don’t 6
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we hire an adjunct or associate president?” Adjunct faculty, the common term for what MSU refers to as fixedterm faculty, are those who teach on a semester-to-semester or yearto-year basis. After each term they must reapply with the university. From fall 2004 to fall 2013, MSU increased employment of fixedterm faculty members by nearly 41 percent, while growth of tenure-track faculty increased by only 2 percent, according to Office of Planning and Budgets reports. The proliferation of fixed-term positions at universities like MSU has become a point of contention among those in higher education. If not offered a full-time position, the fixed-term faculty member, who already has lower salary requirements than a tenure-track faculty member, must find appointments in other universities and community colleges or other work altogether to make a living, Union of Nontenure-Track Faculty principal organizer Elizabeth Pellerito said. Though hiring fixed-term faculty cuts costs for universities, it does so at the detriment of the faculty member and the students studying under them, Saperstein said. “If my teacher is putting in time at three different institutions; if they don’t have a stable office; if they don’t have benefits and things they need to survive as a human being; how’s that going to
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affect their ability to teach me?” Saperstein said. “Their work conditions are our learning conditions.” MSU spokesman Jason Cody said the use of fixed-term faculty benefits students because the university can allocate teaching resources to a course or major in demand without entering into a longterm commitment. He said the increase in employment of fixedterm faculty members can be attributed to larger incoming classes. Following Saperstein’s interjection, he was first asked to sit down but when he refused, officials asked Saperstein to leave. After Saperstein moved from the doorway at the request of a plainclothes officer, he was escorted by the officer to the elevator. Saperstein said he resisted, planting his feet in order to not be moved. Following this, the officer pushed him against a wall, at which point Saperstein shouted for the officer to get his hands off him, Saperstein said. The officer identified himself at Saperstein’s request, and later informed Saperstein that he was under arrest for violating a university disorderly conduct ordinance, Saperstein said. The ordinance states people can not “obstruct, hinder, or impede the normal use or operation” of any place where activites have been scheduled. such as the board of trustees meeting.
News
Spartan Sur pokes fun at Indian stereotypes The a cappella group kept the crowd laughing and addressed Indian-American stereotypes through song, dance and skits By Andrew Merkle amerkle@statenews.com
Clad in traditional Indian garbs, Spartan Sur, MSU’s premier South Asian fusion a cappella group, performed at Kellogg Center with a laughter-filled performance which mocked Indian-American stereotypes through song, dance and skits. Performing in front of a rambunctious crowd, Spartan Sur combined contemporary Bollywood music with popular English songs such as R. Kelly’s “Ignition Remix.” Spartan Sur considers themselves to be South Asian fusion because of their combinations of English songs with songs in Hindi, official language of India. Singing in these two languages is what sets Spartan Sur apart from other a cappella groups on campus saidhuman biology junior Anchit Menawat. “That’s our dynamic ... that we sing in multiple languages and try to bring them together, try to fuse the cultures together because a lot of us are Indian-American and we grew up in America,” Menawat said. “We grew up with the mix of both cultures, and we just try to bring that mix to the stage.” World politics senior and Spartan Sur Vice President Charumati Ganesh said the group sings in both languages because Hindi is the language spoken in Bollywood movies. Menawat added Bollywood movies are typically predictable love stories. “There’s like a cliche among our generation where Bollywood movies have a very fixed type of story line,” Menawat said. Despite the title of the concert, “Not Another Bollywood Movie,” Spartan Sur satirically paid homage to Bollywood movies by playing out the stereotypes on stage. “In our case, it was her dad wanted her to marry someone else,” Menawat said. “Then, you know there’s lots of drama and tension,
Online To watch a selection of Spartan Sur’s performance, go to statenews. com/ multimedia.
Supply chain management sophomore Esha Joshi sings a lead part Saturday at the Spartan Sur concert at the Kellogg Center. photo: kennedy thatch
and then in the end they end up together. So really it was another Bollywood movie, but we just did a play on words.” Neuroscience senior Joseph Aquino agreed. “The name of the concert is sort of like a parody off of a Bollywood movie, and also like playing off of the “Not Another Teen Movie,” things like that,” Aquino said. “It’s really exactly like it, but just poking fun the whole time.”
Spartan Sur portrayed many stereotypes of being an Indian-American during their performance. These stereotypes ranged from strict parents with thick Indian accents trying to push traditional methods onto their children, to Indian parents urging their first-generation children to study for the Medical College Admission Test.
There are other stereotypes specific to Bollywood movies that Spartan Sur depicted. "(Our show) has a lot of parodies like very overbearing parents, (or a) classic love story between a guy and a girl that want to get together but can’t,” Aquino said. Spartan Sur is also in the midst of producing an EP. To read more about their efforts, go to statenews.com
ASMSU bill to fund second Mental Health Awareness Week By Ray Wilbur rwilbur@statenews.com
Last year at MSU students and on-campus organizations participated in the first Mental Health Awareness Week, meant to spread awareness about mental health issues in the U.S. and on college campuses. On Thursday, the ASMSU Finance Committee passed a bill to allocate $13,500 to finance the second annual such week at MSU, which is slated to begin March 30. The bill initially was geared toward allocating $17,500 for the week-long event, but the bill was negotiated to $13,500 and passed. This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week will be themed “Release the Stigma,” which emphasizes the need to treat mental health objectively and to rid campus of the stigma
mental health issues might cause. Budgeted items include 1,000 stress balls, 2,000 T-shirts, 4,000 ribbons and other promotional items such as fliers and posters to spread awareness, according to a tentative budget. “Mental health is a huge issue in America, and especially on college campuses. … We have to deal with terrible stress and we’re just expected to deal with it,” Vice President of Special Projects Ryan Smith said. “Sometimes students feel as though they have nowhere to go, and this is a chance to actually make a difference in East Lansing and at MSU for students struggling with these issues.” Members from ASMSU have been working with university and student organizations in recent weeks to successfully plan for Mental Health Awareness Week and to organize events, which will be offered to students at
no cost. Possible events include massive group workouts, yoga and meditation sessions, and free planetarium shows and access to recreation centers during the week. Smith is also working with campus organizations such as the Council of Graduate Students, Jewish Student Union, MSU Residence Halls Association, University Activities Board, MSU recreational sports centers, Olin Health Center, the Counseling Center, Impact 89FM and the National Panhellenic Conference to organize events and promotions. ASMSU also has been working directly with East Lansing city officials to make this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week bigger and more influential for residents. “The City Council members, the police department, and other officials have complete-
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ly opened their arms to making this Mental Health Awareness Week better than last year,” ASMSU community liaison Bryn Williams said. “They know this is a big issue for us.” Williams is working with city council members to write a resolution that would make Mental Health Awareness Week an officially recognized week by the city, as well as to implement murals around East Lansing. The murals would promote mental health awareness week and issues surrounding mental health through art. The $13,500 allocated by the Finance Committee to fund this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week still needs to be approved by ASMSU’s general assembly next week to be cemented as the official amount. It also depends on how much money is received from other organizations through contributions.
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Crossword
L.A. Times Daily Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis
News
New health initiative looks to engage students, staff By Ryan Squanda rsquanda@statenews.com
Across
1 Norms: Abbr. 5 Channel with a “Congressional Chronicle” online archive 10 In an unexpected direction 14 Hawkeye State 15 Curly-tailed Japanese dog 16 Old conductance units 17 Give the okay 19 Trusted assistant 20 Move it, old-style 21 Thames islands 22 Northern Ireland province 24 Leaves for a cigar 26 Came up 27 Bring lunch from home, say 29 __-Mart Stores, Inc. 32 Walks leisurely 35 Christmastide 36 Boxing legend 37 Manicurist’s tool 38 Tit for __ 39 Baking amts. 40 Pie __ mode 41 “Never Wave at __”: 1952 film 43 Tread water to check out the surroundings, as a whale
45 DVR button 46 Dismiss from the job 48 “Hogan’s Heroes” colonel 50 Oft-rented suits 54 Insert new film 56 Spice Girl Halliwell 57 One: Pref. 58 Settled on the ground 59 Alter a manuscript, e.g. 62 Savior in a Bach cantata 63 Path for a drink cart 64 Kitchenware brand 65 Play segments 66 Like some private communities 67 Coloring agents
Down
1 Vision 2 “Road __”: 1947 Hope/ Crosby film 3 Nerdy sort 4 Enc. with some bills 5 Colorful cats 6 Chair lift alternative 7 Sty residents 8 Sports fig. 9 Kin of organic, at the grocery store 10 Stockpile 11 Gloss over 12 Went by scooter 13 River of Flanders
18 Mother-of-pearl 23 Theater box 25 Equal to the task 26 Border on 28 New York City suburb on the Hudson 30 Dog food brand 31 Speech problem 32 At a distance 33 Runner’s distance 34 Ostracize 38 Propane container 39 Use a keypad 41 Samoan capital 42 Blowhard 43 Ate noisily, as soup 44 Playful sprite 47 “Remington __”: ‘80s TV detective show 49 Cross-legged meditation position 51 Dr. Mallard’s apt nickname on “NCIS” 52 Chilling in the locker room, as champagne 53 Storage towers 54 Indian royal 55 Util. bill 56 Sudden wind 60 __ Fáil: Irish coronation stone 61 Actor Beatty
During the past several months, those around MSU’s campus may have heard the term “Healthy Campus Initiative” thrown around. The project’s goal is to make MSU one of the healthiest places to work, learn and live. HCI was launched by MSU Provost June Youatt, who then assigned Gregory Holzman, associate chair of preventive medicine at MSU, to head the project. But to understand what the Healthy Campus Initiative is, it cannot be thought of as a single isolated initiative, Holzman said. Rather, it is the process of reaching out to different groups and people on campus to find out what’s needed to improve and then integrating resources and aligning people who can help make those improvements. “When you look at the Healthy Campus Initiative, we’re looking at everybody,” Holzman said. “We have programs that will probably be focusing more with students, programs that might be focusing more with faculty and staff, with their families and some that will involve the whole community.” Much of the groundwork has already begun, as Holzman has
been in contact with many groups and organizations at MSU such as Health4U, the College of Nursing and the Epidemiology Office to collaborate on a collection of individual projects that all build toward the overall improvement of health on campus. “It brings a renewed focus to what needs to be done,” said Health Promotion Services Integration Coordinator Nancy Allen, who has been heavily involved in HCI’s start-up phase. “There is always work do be done in health. The focus coming out of the provost’s office increases the opportunity to emphasize health on campus.” In addition to working with already established health groups and programs at MSU, the HCI is also in the process of gathering information from other groups such as ASMSU, Council of Graduate Students, and the Faculty Senate. This is all part of an effort to find out what is needed and wanted to make the university as healthy of a place as it can. But just because of an increased focus surrounding the HCI, that doesn’t mean MSU isn’t already a healthy campus to begin with, Director of Health Education at Student Health Centers Dennis Martell said. The HCI is an all-encompassing set of initiatives that includes both pre-
viously existing programs and projects currently in the works — which include MSU Moves, tobacco-free campus initiatives, bike safety issues and more. Still, there are some areas Martell feels are important to place more focus on. “Some of the most important things we can focus on have to do with helping our students deal with stress, tension, anxiety and depression,” Martell wrote in an email. “We need to do things to help our students build the capacity to manage these mental health concerns. Most of the top 10 health impediment to academic success have to do with mental health.” Different parties working together is huge key to the HCI, which attempts to embody the core principles of the project. These include an emphasis on collaboration and coordination, the strengthening of lines of communication and fostering community and a sense of belonging. “We want to transform the culture of health and wellness at Michigan State,” Holzman said. “I really want people to start thinking about health in everything that they do, so when we start making policies and we start doing things, we start to think about what kind of health impact will this have.”
Showing off his skills
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Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit www.sudoku.org.uk SOLUTION TO TO SOLUTION SATURDAY’S PUZZLE FRIDAY’S PUZZLE
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Economics freshman Raffi Hulian shows off his impressive table tennis skills on Feb. 15 in Akers Hall. PHOTO: Kayla clarke
Features
Casey Holland Features editor features@statenews.com @sn_features
“Annual Step Show” celebrates West African traditions, culture by Austin Koltonowski akoltonowski@ statenews.com
Integrating fast-paced stomps and claps with rhythm and dance, six fraternities and sororities took the stage to pay homage to West African traditions while having some fun along the way. Celebrating black fraternities and sororities, the National Pan-Hellenic Council held their annual step show this past weekend at Wharton Center. Founded in 1930 at Howard University, the NPHC is a national coordinating body for nine historically black sororities and fraternities. President of NPHC at MSU and media and infor mation senior Kristopher Johnson said that stepping traces back to West African ceremonial stomps and claps for celebration. “For us it all boils down to our roots and our history,” Johnson said. But that’s not the only reason so many students participate in this event. Interdisciplinary studies in social science senior and member of Zeta Phi Beta Rachel Tate said that the whole process is a lot of fun and acts as a great bonding experience for a number of the fraternities and sororities. “As much work as it is and as much time as it takes, at the end of the day it’s just so much fun,” Tate said. “It’s a great bonding experience for so many people and it’s a way to get together and really just enjoy your greek family.” After practicing for the last two months, Tate said there are a lot of long nights with little sleep. The show not only takes months to choreograph each set, but is a physically draining process. “To put it in perspective I stomped a hole through my boot. That’s why it’s taped up,” Tate said. Although his fraternity did not participate in the event this year, packaging senior and member of Kappa Alpha Psi Alex Flanagan said that practices are often sporadic and usually late at night. “People work and have class,” Flanagan said. “So people will work from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. and we will have to start practicing at 2 a.m.”
Members of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. celebrate their victory over the other fraternities Saturday during the “2015 Annual Step Show” at Wharton Center. Three sororities and three fraternities from the National Pan-Hellenic Council competed in the event. photos: allyson telgenhof
Flanagan added that the show also acts as an opportunity for the MSU NPHC community to shine throughout the campus along with gaining national recognition. “With social media being so big not only is this is chance to our organizations to show out around campus,” Flanagan said. “But on a larger scale it puts on for MSU as well because people will see this on YouTube later and see how the MSU greek community does it.” The show consisted of six step show performances, one breaking news poem and an intermission that acted as a show in itself as a number of crowd members and participants danced through the aisles of Wharton Center for 10 minutes. At the end of the night the final results deemed the sorority Delta Sigma Theta and the fraternity Omega Psi Phi as the winners of competition. “We just want to do something for MSU that people can enjoy and have fun,” Tate said.
O n l in e To watch performances from the National Pan-Hellenic Council’s “2015 Annual Step Show,” visit statenews. com/ multimedia.
Members of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. perform Saturday during the “2015 Annual Step Show” at Wharton Center. Three sororities and three fraternities from the National Pan-Hellenic Council competed in the event.
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Sports Ice hockey responds to Thursday loss by splitting series with Minnesota By Jonathon Chun jchun@statenews.com
MSU hockey (14-14-2, 8-6-2-2 Big Ten) had not lost a game when scoring three or more goals since its first loss of the season against Massachusetts on Oct. 18. It looked like that streak would stay intact Thursday as the Spartans stormed out to a 3-0 lead over Minnesota in the first 10:34 of the game. But things fell apart quickly for MSU on Thursday night as the Gophers (18-11-3, 9-43-0 Big Ten) scored five unanswered goals to bring the crowd at Mariucci Arena back to life. Suffering a draining loss in such a meaningful point of the season, the Spartans could have — and likely would have in previous seasons — folded the following night. Instead, MSU played one of its best games of the year and defeated Minnesota 4-2. “(Minnesota) is an awfully good team; they don’t lose very much at home,” head coach Tom Anastos said. “I thought it was a really strong 60 minutes by our team tonight.” What made the performance even more impressive was that the Spartans had to play Friday’s game without one of their best defensemen. Junior Travis Walsh left Thursday’s game after fracturing his jaw on an attempted shot block. Walsh led the Spartans with 61 blocked shots, which is a small testament to the influence he has on the team. His average of 2.18 blocks per game heading into the series ranked second in the Big Ten and 11th nationally. Some Spartans stepped up in a big way in light of Walsh’s absence. Junior defenseman and Minnesota native John Draeger scored his first goal in more than two years to give MSU a 1-0 lead in the second period. Draeger also finished the game with a team high of four blocked shots. “It’s like a root canal — finally coming to fruition,” Anastos said of Draeger’s elusive second career goal. “It’s his home state, he’s a Minnesota Wild draft pick. The kid works his tail off every single day and it was really nice to see him get rewarded.” Junior goaltender Jake Hildebrand finished with 22 saves in the Friday night victory after having to make 37 in Thursday’s defeat. Anastos pointed to the Spartans’ improved
Sophomore forward Mackenzie MacEachern celebrates a goal on Minnesota goaltender Adam Wilcox Dec. 6, 2014, at Munn Ice Arena. In the rematch against Minnesota this weekend, the Spartans split the series, winning Saturday night’s game 4-2. state news file photo
offensive game as the reason for their efficient defending. “The forecheck was way better tonight. … I really liked how we entered the zone with possession tonight,” Anastos said. “I thought we spent way more time in the offensive zone, which was key to our defense.” The Spartans’ top forward line provided a
Sophomore forward Aerial Powers sets single-season rebounding record by zach libby zlibby@statenews.com
When the question, “What else can Aerial Powers accomplish in one season?” pops up, the sophomore offers an impressive answer to college basketball supporters. 10
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big punch offensively for the second weekend in a row. Sophomore Joe Cox and juniors Ryan Keller and Michael Ferrantino combined for four goals and 10 points in the two games. Each player is currently riding a four-game point streak. The series split kept MSU right in the thick of the Big Ten race. With just four more games
It was just this past Sunday Powers sent Breslin Center into a frenzy as she and the rest of the Spartans knocked off then-No. 20 Rutgers for their first victory over a ranked opponent since Dec. 21, when they played then-No. 22 Syracuse. During the 60-50 upset, Powers would break former Chicago Sky standout, Liz Moeggenberg’s,, (then known as Liz Shimek) single-season points record after surpassing the 597th mark. She also garnered her 1,000 career point earlier this month against Powers conference bottom dweller, Penn State. But it wasn’t the only benchmark reached
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left in the season, MSU sits in third place with 28 points — two points behind Minnesota and five behind UM. Securing a top-two finish will be key for MSU as it guarantees them a spot in the Big Ten tournament semifinals. The Spartans wrap up the season with two games against the first-place Wolverines.
by the forward on senior day, heightening the double-double record to 22 to close out the regular season. “Aerial Powers is an outstanding player. Just a great player,” Scarlet Knight’s head coach Charlaine Vivian Stringer said. “I think coach has done a great job utilizing her and (Tori) Jankoska. They complement each other very well, and she deserves all the credit.” As the second-highest points per game leader (21.9) in the conference, behind Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell, Powers only needed one more game to solidify herself as one of the most productive offensive and
defensive machines in the nation. Sitting on top of the leaderboards at No. 7 in the country in rebounds per game, the 17 total rebounds recorded this past Sunday against Purdue passes Moeggenberg’s single-season rebounding record. Having held the record since the 2004-2005 season, it took 11 full seasons before Shimek’s prominent total of 335 was outmatched. Powers’ double-digit rebounds in West Lafayette has brought the record to 350. “I can’t image that anybody that’s ever showed up and watched us play had ever been disappointed, regardless of what has happened, to watch that kid’s maximum effort,” MSU women’s basketball coach Suzy Merchant told the Lansing State Journal last Saturday.
Geoff Preston Sports editor sports@statenews.com @thesnews_sports
Men’s tennis prepares for break before embarking on stretch of 11 Big Ten meets Head coach Gene Orlando said team needs to improve as they prepare for the 13 remaining meets, 11 of which are Big Ten meets. Orlando also said the team needs to particularly improve in singles matches By Matthew Argillander margillander@statenews.com
The men’s tennis team will get some much-needed time off as the team gears up for the rest of the season. The Spartans have 12 games remaining, 10 of which are Big Ten meets. If the team hopes to make the NCAA tournament it will need to fair well in Big Ten play. “It really comes down to (we’ve) got to have a solid Big Ten season, flat out,” head coach Gene Orlando said. “We’re going to have to go (8-3 or 7-4) if we want to have a chance, and then have a good Big Ten tournament. There’s opportunities in the Big Ten but we’ve got to take it one at a time.” The team returns to play March 12 against Texas for one of its final non-conference games of the season. The only other remaining non-conference game comes against Detroit on March 22, a day in which the Spartans travel to Ohio State and play the Buckeyes at noon and then must return to Michigan to take on the Titans at 8 p.m. The Spartans were the clear favorites against Youngstown State, but nonetheless a dominating 6-0 win has to be encouraging to the team heading into the break. The theme surrounding the team as of late has been good play but not good enough to earn a win. “We’re setting ourselves up for next
week of practice (and) for spring break. You just want to have the right mindset, you want to finish right, from that standpoint (the win over Youngstown State), it sets us on the right path,” Orlando said. MSU has gotten off to strong starts, winning the doubles point their last four games, but before the win over Youngstown State the Spartans lost three straight despite taking doubles. The team will look to get off to a stronger start in singles matches as the Spartans in the losses have often found themselves dropping the first set in singles, a challenging hole to dig themselves out of. “We’ve (got to) have better starts in singles. We get down and then we come back in the second sets and we make it a match,” Orlando said. “If we get off to better starts we all of a sudden we don’t let them win a match.” Freshman Jasper Koenen, who is a perfect 9-0 in doubles play this season with his partner senior Doug Zade, acknowledged that the team must get off to better starts in singles play. “We need to get a little better at starting well and getting the first sets in singles,” Koenen said. “A lot of these teams, they lose five out of the six first sets on all these courts. They kind of fall and it’s over, but we always find a way to win second sets and find a way to make it close. … That’s something to learn from moving forward.”
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Men’s tennis head coach Gene Orlando watches a match Friday, at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility on 3571 E. Mt. Hope Ave. in Lansing. The Spartans defeated the Penguins, 6-0. photo: alice kole
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BLOOMFIELD HILLS Rental Co. needs summer help! Up to $12/hr, May-Aug. Outdoor work, lifting req. Call Wayne, (248) 3324700.
SURVEY INTERVIEWERS and data entry clerks needed. MSU’s Survey Research Lab is hiring telephone interviewers to conduct computer-assisted interviews in English for health and public policy studies. P/T, flex work schedule, evening and weekend hrs. req. Paid training. $8.28/hr to start, opportunities for advancement. To apply call 517353-5404 or come to Room 10, Berkey Hall with your resume.
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ROOMMATES NEEDED. 2 bed, 1 bath apt; 551 Albert, located near Insomnia Cookies, parking, laundry facilities. Rent includes: cable/int., heat,water. Avail 7/23. Contact Dan 609.425.4237, maiatico@ msu.edu.
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Sports Freshman distance and free stroker Jacob Carl swims the 800 yard freestyle relay event Feb. 7, during the men’s swimming & diving meet against Michigan at IM Sports West. The Wolverines beat the Spartans 178-106. photo: alice kole
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Swimming and diving struggles at Big Ten championships By Troy Jefferson Tjefferson@statenews.com
It was a rough weekend for the swimming team at the Big Ten Championships in Iowa City, Iowa. MSU finished in last place with 82 total points, which was 99 points fewer than ninth place Northwestern. “I think we competed pretty hard. It’s a difficult conference,” head coach Matt Gianiodis said. “It wasn’t the goal to get tenth.” It was the fifth consecutive year that the Spartans finished in
10th place in the Big Ten Championships. Michigan won the conference championships for the fifth consecutive year and 39th time in program history. The Spartans began the tournament with a ninth place finish in the 200-medley relay. Freshman Alex Trompke, sophomore Alec Kandt, junior Jacob Moore and freshman Lachie McLeish made up the relay team. Moore was able to have some success individually, recording MSU’s fastest 100 freestyle time this season.
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“Jake had a good meet, we were hoping he would go a little quicker,” Gianiodis said. The Spartans were only able to muster 14 points in Thursday’s events despite recording five top ten times in school history, friday was much of the same for MSU, who scored 19 points total to bring their score to 65 points overall. Kandt was a hundredth of a second away from tying the school record in the qualifying round of the 100 breaststroke. “I thought (Alex) did a really good job,” Gianiodis said. Kandt finished the preliminary round in 13th place with a time of 53.78. Kandt’s time was the second fastest in program history. MSU had two of their fastest times in the 200 backstroke preliminary rounds on Saturday. Sophomore Adam Marsh finished in 19th place with a final time of 1:45.25. Marsh’s time was good for second best in school history, sophomore Sam Hiller wasn’t far behind, finishing in 22nd place with a final time of 1:45.93, which is third fastest in program history. The divers will be next up for the MSU swimming and diving team. The NCAA Zone Diving Championships will start on March 12 and run through March 14 in Columbus, Ohio.