Wednesday 3/27/13

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Ride of a lifetime: 4,264 miles, building homes

E.L. could lose $450,000 from new contracts

Anastos os tells hockey team “We need eed to get better.”

FEATURES, PAGE 6

STATENEWS.COM

SPORTS, PAGE GE 6

Freshman goaltender ender Jake Hildebrand.. ADAM TOOLIN/THE STATE NEWS

Weather Partly cloudy High 43° | Low 28° Michigan State University’s independent voice | statenews.com | East Lansing, Mich. | Wednesday, March 27,, 2013 3

Three-day forecast, Page 2

Dealing with grief

College is a difficult time to deal with death — students discover ways to help cope with loss By Darcie Moran

COURT

SUPREME COURT HEARS CASES FOR, AGAINST SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

morandar@msu.edu

ABOVE: Media arts and technology senior Chris Huffman sits for a portrait in his house on Tuesday as he holds a flower dated from the funeral of his then-girlfriend, 19-year-old family and community services sophomore Carly Glynn. Glynn died on Feb. 10, 2012.

THE STATE NEWS

By Kellie Rowe

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rowekell@msu.edu

Chris Huffman looked like he had seen a ghost by the time he reached his work supervisor. He hadn’t explained to anyone that he had just learned of his girlfriend, 19-year-old family and community services sophomore Carly Glynn’s, sudden death Feb. 10, 2012, but when he asked to leave work to rush to Snyder Hall to be with Glynn’s roommate, there was no need — the grief and urgency was visible. “I just was in shock,” said Huffman, now a media arts and technology senior. “That was my first time dealing with death so close, firsthand.” It was in the days and months to come that all the emotions of grief hit him: the pain, the anger, the irritability and the sorrow. Huffman is one of the many college students dealing with death. About 39 percent of students nationwide reported having experienced the death of a friend or family member, according to a 2010 study by Brooklyn College of City University of New York and Oral Roberts University researchers. In the last month alone, at least three MSU students have died: 19-year-old geological sciences sophomore Anna Flory, of currently unknown causes; 23-year-old nutritional sciences senior Andrew Singler, of a stab wound; and 19-year-old premedical sophomore Chas Schneider, of kidney failure brought on by colon cancer. Huffman said since Glynn’s death from meningococcal disease, he can’t help but pick up a newspaper when he sees another student has died. “I know what (friends are) going through,” he said. “I will always remember Carly. There’s nothing that could erase the time that I had spent with her.” Huffman said through the support of friends and counseling, he has been able to cope with her death and reach a positive place when remembering Glynn — approaches local experts say are ideal when trying to understand a loss. Gwen Kapcia, program director of Life Landscapes at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, said college students might especial-

THE STATE NEWS

With more than 55 percent of MSU’s international students coming from China, MSU experts have been searching for a way to reach those students when it comes to health-related questions while protecting students’ anonymity surrounding sensitive topics. MSU recently released Ask A Spartan, an website allowing people to anonymously ask questions in Mandarin Chinese or English on topics including relationships, mental health, sexual health, legal issues and sexual identity. Responses are in English and come from MSU experts from the Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Prevention Program, Women’s Resource Center, Student Health Services, MSU Safe Place, the Counseling Center,

JUSTIN WAN/THE STATE NEWS

Athletic trainer Quinton Sawyer helps junior guard Keith Appling stand after Appling injured himself during the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Mich.

NEW WEBSITE ENABLES STUDENTS TO ASK ANONYMOUS QUESTIONS ■■

BASKETBALL

To learn about how grief affects college kids, visit statenews.com/multimedia.

H E A LT H

THE STATE NEWS

See SAME-SEX on page 2 X

More online…

JUSTIN WAN/THE STATE NEWS

By Isabella Shaya

Gay marriage returned to the national spotlight Tuesday as the Supreme Court heard arguments to lift a California ban — a change that could affect millions of Americans, including the Spartan community. Some Spartans began changing their Facebook profile pictures to a red equal sign to symbolize support for samesex marriage throughout the day Tuesday, but as the potentially landmark case unfolds, it’s unsure whether their hopes will come true. Justices took up the Hollingsworth v. Perry case regarding the constitutionality of California’s Proposal 8 — a referendum banning gay marriage approved by 52 percent of the Golden State’s voters in 2008. Conser vative justices claimed changing the ban would compromise marriage traditions centuries old, while liberal justices denied arguments that same-sex couples should not be able to marry because they can’t procreate. The legal question is whether the equal protection rights guaranteed in the 14th Amendment prohibit states

See GRIEF on page 2 X

LEFT: Huffman poses with Glynn’s gloves next to a photo of her in his house.

shayaisa@msu.edu

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from establishing a definition for marriage. Law professor Mae Kuykendall, who specializes in gay marriage issues, said the Supreme Court is unlikely to issue a blanket mandate legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, but rather a decision that only applies to California. She said many justices discussed their “institutional incompetence” regarding gay marriage and hesitation toward issuing a decision affecting all 50 states. “Some of them are hesitant to venture into the area,” Kuykendall said, adding even the high court’s swing voter, Justice Anthony Kennedy, is reluctant to dive into the issue. A California Supreme Court ruling made same-sex marriage legal in California in June 2008 until Proposition 8 amended the California Constitution to ban it again in November of 2008. People Respecting the Individuality of Students at MSU, or PRISM, Vice President Stephanie Torres, a political theory and constitutional democracy and comparative cultures and politics junior, said even if the ban isn’t lifted, the media exposure is key to the cause for same-sex marriage. “It’s a great way to draw attention to the issue and continue to fight for it,” she said, adding

LBGT Resource Center, MSU Sexual Assault Program and the Office for International Students and Scholars. The site was launched last week and has received questions, including, “I don’t think I’ve ever had an orgasm. Is that bad?” and, “What counts as evidence for a rape and how do I know what to do if I think I was sexually assaulted? For one, I was told not to take a shower but I don’t know what else I should do before calling the police.” Jayne Schuiteman, an associate professor and interim director of the Women’s Resource Center, said allowing questions to be asked in Mandarin Chinese was an effort to meet the demands of MSU’s diverse student body. There are 6,223 students from foreign countries at MSU this semester — 3,453 from China — according to the Office of the Registrar Enrollment and Term End

Reports. “Chinese speaking students often don’t feel that they have access to resources (on) highly sensitive topics,” Schuiteman said. “We want to make sure that they have the information that they want.” General management freshman Wen Qiang Li, who is from China, said he likes the idea behind Ask A Spartan because it’s an easy way to help students. Li said although it would be easier for him to ask a question in Chinese, he most likely would use English because it’s an American website and he tries to use English more. Schuiteman said she expects questions about culture to increase, such as a question that was asked about how dating works in the U.S. Political science senior Jessica Newman said she or her friends might use Ask A Spartan. She par-

ticularly likes the anonymity. “I feel like a lot of people are embarrassed to ask certain questions,” Newman said. Schuiteman said all questions, including those that mention rape and abuse, are posed anonymously regardless of the question’s severity. Erica Phillipich, coordinator for the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Student Health Services, said she has answered sexual health-related questions with the help of her colleagues. “We all have something different to contribute,” Phillipich said. “This is really a team effort.” Phillipich said it’s important to have various avenues for students to ask and get answers to questions. “I don’t think there’s a question (on Ask A Spartan) that I have not been asked at some point in person, but it’s all about how they access you,” Phillipich said.

Appling plays on in NCAA despite injuries By Josh Mansour mansou13@msu.edu THE STATE NEWS ■■

The questions didn’t stop. He’d heard them all day, but when the count reached six straight on that same subject, Keith Appling paused and couldn’t help but chuckle. “All these questions are going to be about my injuries and stuff,” the junior guard said with a laugh. Appling’s humor with the line of questioning is understandable. With a re-aggravated shoulder injury from earlier in the season and recurring knee tendinitis, Appling’s first bout with injuries in his life is coming at an inopportune time as the No. 3 seed MSU men’s basketball team (27-8) prepares

2013

NCAA

TOURNAMENT for a Sweet 16 matchup with No. 2 seed Duke (29-5) in Indianapolis on Friday (9:45 p.m., CBS). “It’s really irritating,” Appling said. “Every time I move a certain way, I get a sharp pain, but it’s basketball. These types of things tend to happen, so I’ve just got to fight through it.” It’s a mindset built into the sporting culture and defined for Appling by Detroit, the city he grew up in, and the program he plays for. See INJURY on page 2 X


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Wednesday 3/27/13 by The State News - Issuu