2 | TH E STAT E N E WS | T U ES DAY, JANUARY 29, 201 3 | STATE N E WS.COM
Police brief Man dies from E.L. parking ramp fall A 25-year-old Lansing resident died Sunday morning after reportedly falling from the top of the parking ramp off of Albert Avenue. East Lansing police found the man in front of the entrance to the CVS Pharmacy, 240 M.A.C. Ave., public parking entrance, according to a press release from the East Lansing Police Department. A witness told police the man fell from the City Center Ramp, according to the release. The man was taken to Sparrow Hospital, 1215 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing, and declared dead shortly after his arrival. He was not an MSU student, according to the release. The incident is being investigated, and the police are working on informing the man’s family. ISABELLA SHAYA | THE STATE NEWS
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Corrections In the page 3 story “Alpha Gamma Rho hosts beef preview show” (TSN 1/21), Jason Smith’s major is crop and soil sciences and agribusiness management. The State News will correct all factual errors, including misspellings of proper nouns. Besides printing the correction in this space, the correction will be made in the online version of the story. If you notice an error, please contact Managing Editor Emily Wilkins at (517) 432-3070 or by email at feedback@ statenews.com.
EDITOR IN CHIEF Andrew Krietz MANAGING EDITOR Emily Wilkins BREAKING NEWS EDITOR Beau Hayhoe DESIGN EDITOR Drew Dzwonkowski ASSISTANT DESIGN EDITOR Liam Zanyk McLean PHOTO EDITOR Natalie Kolb ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR Adam Toolin
Department of Homeland Security lists fuel station near Spartan Stadium as saftey hazard
“If someone were to target and take advantage ... I don’t think that was a risk we wanted to take on.”
FROM PAGE ONE
Mitch Lyons, MSU Trustee
MSU would have a “huge tragedy ” on its hands, he said. “I believe that was our number one concern we had on this campus for safety,” Flinn said, adding MSU Police would be the most knowledgeable on this topic. “It’s felt that if the terrorist has their way, that is the one thing they are going to do is (target) a big public assemblage of people, and that’s why Homeland Security said anything like this is not good, and it has to change.” MSU police declined to comment on the potential security threat. MSU Trustee Mitch Lyons said whether it be the potential of a terrorist action or even an accidental explosion or fire, the general consensus of the board is this much fuel in such close proximity to the stadium is dangerous and needs to change. The issue was brought to the board’s attention in 2012, Lyons said, adding the DHS reported this concern more than two years ago. “That certainly is an issue — if someone were to target and take advantage and put people in jeopardy,” Lyons said. “I don’t think that was a risk we wanted to take on.” Bob Nestle, university engineer for the Physical Plant, said although there never has been a direct terrorist threat at MSU, this relocation is a method to ensure the MSU community’s safety. “Quite frankly, the likeli-
hood of (the stadium) being a terrorist attack target is quite remote, but you can’t say it’s zero,” Nestle said. “If there were a fire there during a football game, even if it were small, when you have 70,000-plus people in one spot, the chance of panic setting in is (big).” Nestle said for more than 10 years, there has been talk about moving the entire automotive services operations, located at the stadium. Although he could not recall the year DHS expressed concern about the fuel station’s location, he said it likely was brought up a few years ago. Nestle said following the concern, the fuel station was a top priority to be relocated before other automotive operations. At football games, Nestle said MSU has extra security and police patrols. But there is no special security in terms of protecting the fuel station, he said. Comparative cultures and politics senior Megan Orth said she has gone to nearly every football game since her freshman year and has never considered this threat. But when hearing about the DHS’s concern, she said she is at ease knowing MSU is taking action. “I can definitely see why they would want to move it now that (the) association has been linked,” Orth said. “Especially with increased security on college campuses in general, it makes sense they would want to take as many precautions as possible.”
FUNDING
House Appropriations Committee and was appointed as vice chair of the Higher Education and Education subcommittee, potentially increasing MSU’s political sway when the time comes to pass a budget. W hen compa red to t he national average, Michigan students receive about $2,000 less per student in state funding, according to Grapevine research. “The state needs to reinvest in higher education if it wants to see more students attaining postsecondary education credentials,” Heller said. “Otherwise, tuition will continue to rise at rates that will price many students out of attending college.” Cantwell said universities typically are one of the fi rst areas to experience budget cuts because they can raise revenue by increasing tuition, whereas public bodies, such as police departments or K-12 schools, cannot. To increase funding, the MSU Board of Trustees approved a 3.5 percent increase in tuition for in-state students and a 5 percent increase for out-ofstate students for the 2012-13 academic year. Although state appropriations to universities increased this year, Cantwell said students shouldn’t expect tuition to decrease. While Evan Martinak, president of ASMSU — MSU’s undergraduate student government — understands legislators have to pick and choose what they spend money on, he said cutting higher education funding could hurt the economy in the long run. “If we want to draw that kind of financial capital, we need to invest fi rst in our human capital,” he said.
FUEL
OPINION EDITOR Katie Harrington CAMPUS EDITOR Rebecca Ryan CITY EDITOR Summer Ballentine SPORTS EDITOR Kyle Campbell FEATURES EDITOR Matt Sheehan COPY CHIEF Caitlin Leppert
Although state funding for public universities increased last year, trend not expected to continue FROM PAGE ONE
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higher education tends to get more money.” When Michigan was at one of its lowest economic periods, Gov. Rick Snyder cut 15 percent of state appropriations toward higher education for the 201112 fi scal year. But a year later, he allocated about $299 million to MSU for the 2012-13 fiscal year, a slight increase compared to last year’s $284 million appropriation. Higher, Adult and Lifelong Education assistant professor Brendan Cantwell said higher education historically experiences some return in funding after recessions, but Michigan universities shouldn’t expect the trend to continue. Instead, Snyder placed a higher emphasis on performance metrics to determine funding, Cantwell said. The metrics measure a range of variables, such as how effectively the university increases graduation rates, how many students earn Pell Grants and how many students are enrolled in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, fields. “I think that members of the state Legislature feel that they need to provide incentives for colleges and universities to engage in (these) particular activities,” Cantwell said. St ate Rep. Sa m Si ngh, D-East Lansing, and former East Lansing mayor, recently was appointed to Michigan’s
LCC
New regulations make transfers between LCC and MSU easier FROM PAGE ONE
years at LCC and transferred this fall, said although she misses the class sizes at LCC and feels MSU faculty go much faster, she would still rather stay on campus if she ever opted to earn an associate degree from the community college. John Dirkx, a professor in the Higher, Adult and Lifelong Education program at MSU, said the new policy might be beneficial in a world where companies place more emphasis on earning a college degree, although he noted most employers are looking for bachelor’s or graduate degrees. Bateman said although the plan might not be for everyone, she has considered taking a break from MSU at times. “What happens if a student isn’t able to complete a (bachelor’s) degree?” Gulick said. “If a student isn’t able to, at least they have the associate degree.” A long-standing relationship Dirkx said relationships need to be fostered between universities and community colleges. “You can’t understate the role of community colleges in higher education,” Dirkx said. “It’s providing for people who might not otherwise have the opportunity or access to higher education.” LCC applicants make up a large portion of applicants to MSU, Senior Associate Director of Admissions Mike Cook said. Cook said LCC applicants made up 13.4 percent of the applicant pool for fall semester 2012, and so far, they make up
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14.8 percent of the applicant pool for fall 2013. Jim Cotter, MSU director of admissions said starting at a community college might be a better fit for some students than to start at a large university. Gulick said it is wellknown many LCC students end up transferring to MSU, but some MSU students also take classes at LCC. The relationship doesn’t stop there. Dirkx said LCC also has collaborated on research with MSU and on state-level projects. MSU faculty also have been keynote speakers at LCC events. Other collaborations between MSU and LCC include sharing faculty to train people to work in the film industry in 2009. The program was held five days a week for two months but stopped because of lack of funding, said MSU Director of Broadcasting Gary Reid, who led the program. Reid said faculty from both sides came together, with MSU helping to provide the facilities and LCC providing set design, hair and makeup. Bateman said although the universities collaborate on projects and have many of the same students, there needs to be further collaboration between the advising departments, which she said caused her the most trouble in her move between the institutions. Rafeeq McGiveron, an adviser at LCC, said he has tried showing students how to find information on classes and transferring on the MSU website, but there are some students who find that difficult. The online transfer guide includes information about general education courses, but nothing on specific majors. Despite the challenges, McGiveron said the collaboration between MSU and LCC helps to provide students with a full education. “The community college and the land-grant institution, with their overlapping missions, they partner up really well I think,” Dirkx said.
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SOLUTION TO MONDAY’S PUZZLE
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 © 2013 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.