Campus+city
STAT E NE WS.CO M | T HE STAT E N EWS | T HU RSDAY, MAY 16 , 2013 |
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CAMPUS+CITY EDITOR Robert Bondy, campus@statenews.com PHONE (517) 432-3070 FAX (517) 432-3075
MSU SEES RECORD NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS FOR 3RD YEAR By Katie Abdilla kabdilla@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS ■■
Despite a record-high number of applicants, MSU has managed to crack down on admission levels for the 2013-14 academic year. Jim Cotter, the director of MSU’s Office of Admissions, said about 31,500 high school students submitted applications last fall, making it the third year in a row for a record-high num-
ber of applications. “Students apply to more than one institution, and a significant amount of people apply to five or more,” Cotter said. “MSU is making a massive decision to focus on the quality of the applications and what number of students we should admit, knowing not everyone we offer will take us up on our offer.” Despite the number of applicants, Cotter said the Office of Admissions has become more strategic, admitting about 68
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percent of applicants, as opposed to 70 percent last year. “We admitted aggressively last year, and a great percentage of those admitted accepted,” he said. “We’ve kept admissions purposely low (this year) and waited until May 1 … determining how much space we have to work with.” Cotter said factors outside of incoming freshmen applications must be considered to maintain a constant number of about 7,800 students admitted
each academic year based on budget availability. “We’ve been very intentionally strategic,” he said. “That target has been established based on many factors, not just the size of the freshman class but also what size the transfer class should be.” With the number of international students admitted to MSU growing exponentially since 2006, Peter Briggs, the director of the Office for International Students and Schol-
ars, said the growth most likely plays a factor in application rates, as well. “If you look at numbers, the growth of Chinese undergraduates is the area of growth, and that really sends a message,” Briggs said. Briggs said the increase in international student presence will encourage global diversity on campus. “We owe it all to students here to not just have everybody be the same,” he said. “The world
is changing, and we want to prepare people for a globalized world, and interaction with people from other countries can be transformational.” Although actions such as transitional housing have come as a result of high admission rates, theatre senior Lydia Hiller said she has not encountered any issues with the growing student population. “It’s worked out fine for me so far,” Hiller said. “It hasn’t seemed to be a problem.”
HISTORY Alumna Katie Scharra sifts through dirt on Wednesday outside the MSU Museum during an archeology dig. Scharra and other students were testing the area to see if there were any historical items located in the ground.
10 students honored with Homecoming Court positions By Tyler Beck tbeck@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS ■■
Spartans are known around the world for their excellence in achievement, and the Homecoming Court members are great examples of Spartan ambassadors — this year’s court is no different. The 2013 MSU Homecoming Court was announced last week, with 10 seniors chosen out of 68 applicants and given the task of representing their fellow students. “It’s something I’ve dreamed of since freshman year,” Janisse Patino-Martinez said, a communication senior who was selected to the court. Diversity, a wealth of life and MSU experiences and different community service backgrounds, both at home and abroad, are some of the key traits that make up the 2013 court, co-adviser to the MSU Homecoming Court Jodi Hancock said. “We want them to be role models for prospective and current students,” Hancock said. Hancock is one of three advisers for the Homecoming Court who are involved in the entire process, working closely with the MSU Alumni Association to recruit members of the community for the selection process and working to support and promote the members of the court. “It was a difficult selection process; there were defi nitely more than 10 (applicants) who could have been on (the) court,” she said. Last year, there were 12 members as an experiment, but this year it was decided that 10 members would be easier to manage, although more difficult to select, Hancock said.
“We want them to be role models for prospective and current students.” Jodi Hancock, co-adviser to MSU Homecoming Court
“Such a diverse group of students was selected, and we represent the students at MSU well,” genetics senior Zachary DeRade said. The members of the court have many duties in their yearlong commitment, such as appearing at community events and alumni reunions and, of course, standing on the football fi eld at halftime of the Homecoming football game in the fall. One such event is the Kedzie Reunion, where members of the court will meet Spartan alumni who graduated 50 or more years ago and participate in activities such as tours and an award ceremony. “We are working to connect alumni back to the university,” Hancock said. However, the court members still are students first, and have internships and other prior engagements, Hancock said. For international relations senior Kara Brewer and other court members, the opportunity to meet fellow Spartans is one of the many rewards of the experience. “There are some incredible people on court, and it’s been great to meet all of them,” Brewer said. As diverse as this group is, the uniting factor among all of them is their love for MSU. “The best part is we are all Spartans,” Patino-Martinez said. “We all connect on that level.”
JULIA NAGY/ THE STATE NEWS
Campus Archaeology Program uncovers history By Soundarya Lakshmi slakshmi@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS ■■
Lynne Goldstein and her team of archaeologists are on a mission to unearth the blueprint to MSU’s past. After uncovering a 1900s boiler room on campus nearly a year ago, the MSU Campus Archaeology Program currently is working on West Circle Drive, where sidewalk construction has been ongoing for nearly a month. Campus archaeologist Katy Meyers said the team recently found burnt building material in this excavation, leading to questions of what else could be found on the 158-year-old campus. “As they replace sidewalks, we try to see if anything significant is buried,” Meyers said. “It is definitely historic, but we are yet to figure out what the
burnt building material signifies. Earlier we have found glass and ceramic during excavations.” Since the program started in 2007, the MSU Campus Archeology Program students have excavated three campus buildings. Meyers said the first dormitory on MSU’s campus and the first academic building have been excavated by campus archaeologists. Archaeological technician Katie Scharra said she takes pride in being part of the team that preserves cultural heritage on campus. “We do archeological investigation of construction sites,” Schar-
ra said. “When there is construction on campus, we make sure the cultural heritage of MSU is not lost. We pay attention to where the construction is going on, (and) we document the process of demolitions.” Scharra said past excavations have helped get a realistic look at the life of former students on campus. Goldstein, who is the director of the Campus Archaeology Program, said they continue to make a lot of findings through their excavations. “I always like the personal items like toothbrushes and pipes,
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but I was also impressed that we found a largely undisturbed Native American site that dates to about 1500-3000 B.C. It was across the street from the library.” She said when archaeology and historic written records are combined, one can get a more complete picture of the past. “We know the work was done, but have few details,” Goldstein said. “We are hoping we can better understand how the early people at the college changed the landscape of MSU to make it better for them, but also to examine how those decisions might affect us today.”
L.A. Times Daily Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis
POLICE
Picnic celebrates local public safety By Omar Thabet othabet@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS ■■
In honor of Police Week, hundreds of Lansing residents gathered together on Wednesday at Hawk Island Park, 1601 E Cavanaugh Road, in Lansing, to say thank you to the local safety patrols in the annual Police and Fire Field Day and Safety Patrol Picnic. There were hot dogs, snacks and drinks served to the students and parents who were in attendance. Some other attractions were the displays made by some of the public officials who were at the event. Some of the safety officials included members of Michigan State Police, East Lansing Police, Lansing firefighters, Domestic Emergency Support Team, MSU Police Aviation Unit, Michigan Sheriffs’ Association and the Red Cross. Executive director at Lansing Area Safety Council Suzy Carter organized the event. “The community support and the kids (are) what makes this picnic really special,” says Carter. “This is a great way for the kids to interact with our public safety officials (on) a positive basis.” Lt. Patrick Lawrence from the Michigan State Police Aviation Unit said he enjoys coming back to this event because of the amazing time he has with the kids. “All you have to do is take a
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DANYELLE MORROW/THE STATE NEWS
Sgt. Ryan Wilcox of the Lansing Police Department places a kevlar helmet on Webberville, Mich., resident Christopher Kemler, 10, Wednesday.
look around and see how excited the kids are about engaging with all the equipment and all the people out here,” Lawrence said. “It gives them a greater understanding of what we do, and it also gives them a more comfortable feeling with law enforcement.” Community Service Trooper Marco Jones, from the state police post in Lansing, says the interaction with the local residents can improve public safety. “The most important thing residents can take from this event is to trust your law enforcement,” Jones said. “If you see something, say something. We don’t want our residents afraid (of) us, we are here to help.”
Carter also mentions that the event is a recruiting tool for potential future public safety employees. “The younger kids in the school see the leaders of the school becoming safeties,” Carter said. “So there is some incentive there because to be a safety you have to behave and maintain certain grades.” Lansing Fire Department Capt. Wade Elton believes the attendance from all the different public officials is key to recruiting upcoming officials. “Hopefully this event might give the students some direction for their future profession,” Elton said.
1 Big head 4 Fancy dance 8 Bad hair day feature 13 Hauler’s unit 14 Beatnik’s dough 16 French name meaning “born again” 17 Day off from sch. 18 Where Cal Ripken’s consecutive game record was set 20 Brief mea culpa 22 Candidate list 23 Repair quote: Abbr. 24 Color named for a bird 27 Showy lily 28 “Godmother of Punk” Smith 32 Back in time 33 Bitter 39 Ray or Flay 40 “Calm down!” 43 Ristorante menu word 44 Pitch add-on 45 __ Khan: Rita Hayworth’s husband 46 Peaceful scene 48 Newspaper section 50 Taxing period, usually 57 Scary snake 60 Copy room supplies 61 Plucked strings, in Padua 62 Immature 20-something, say 65 Vampire’s alter ego
66 Sap 67 Actress Dickinson 68 Profitable rock 69 Sweet, or, read another way, a hint to five long puzzle answers 70 Hyphenated IDs 71 Cadillac luxury sedan
DOWN 1 Personal creed 2 Reliable 3 Like many magazines, nowadays 4 “EastEnders” airer 5 Sheikdom in a jazz standard 6 WWII Air Force general Curtis __ 7 Minestrone server 8 Grill on a stove 9 Blues-rocker Chris 10 Brief words? 11 Heart of a London puzzle? 12 Joie de vivre 15 Wooded valley 19 Lon of Cambodia 21 NYC’s __ Hammarskjöld Plaza 25 Guffaw 26 “My best soldiers”: MacArthur 29 Loge 30 Knows the difference between 31 Not reliable 32 Beneficial berry
34 Picnic discard 35 Peaked 36 Turn blue, perhaps 37 Physicist’s particle 38 Chewed-over material 41 Soapstone, mostly 42 Place for stragglers 47 Rte. for many a red-eye 49 Handwoven rug 51 Vile 52 Former member of the Irish band Clannad 53 Old Dodge compacts 54 What dispensaries dispense 55 Sean who played a hobbit 56 Has status 57 ELO relative? 58 Paretsky who writes V.I. Warshawski detective novels 59 Think ahead 63 Trunk cover 64 Blokes
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