24/7 to be replaced with new convenience store CAMPUS+CITY, PAGE 3
The music of former MSU basketball player Maurice Ager FEATURES, PAGE 7
How to choose a healthy meal in an MSU cafeteria CAMPUS+CITY, PAGE 6
Weather Partly cloudy High 46° | Low 28° Michigan State University’s independent voice | statenews.com | East Lansing, Mich. | Thursday, March 28, 2013
Three-day forecast, Page 2
CRIME
Destination SWEET 16
MSU DOESN’T FULLY COMPLY WITH FIRE DRILL POLICY By Darcie Moran morandar@msu.edu THE STATE NEWS ■■
16
16 appearances 11 Sweet
straight NCAA appearances
4
Although MSU is in violation of the state’s fire prevention code for fire and tornado drills in university buildings, they likely will not change practices or be penalized. The Michigan Bureau of Fire Services has no current plans to charge university officials with a misdemeanor for their failure to comply with fire and tornado regulations — a step that has not been taken with any Michigan school, at least in the last 15 years, said Michigan Bureau of Fire Services Deputy Director and Assistant Fire Marshal Tony
wins to go
ILLUSTR ATION BY K AYLEY SOPEL | SN
Eat, drink and be merry Stop by one of these Indy joints to watch the game
By Caleb Nordgren and Milan Griffes
Fox & Hound Bar & Grill
4901 E. 82nd St., Suite 900 Price Range: $9-26/meal Menu: sandwiches, appetizers, beer, etc. The MSU Alumni Association holds watch parties here, they should be present for the weekend’s games
Slippery Noodle Inn
372 S. Meridian St. Price Range: $10-30/meal Menu: sandwiches, appetizers, drinks The ‘hub’ of MSU fan activity in Indy
Bru Burger Bar
410 Massachusetts Ave. Price Range: $10-15/meal Menu: the name says it all
Prepare to get your Sparty on in Indy nordgren@msu.edu and griffes4@msu.edu THE STATE NEWS ■■
A
t 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, a full 2 1/2 hours before tickets officially went on sale, human development and family studies junior Faye Van Oostenburg staked out the Izzone office on the third floor of the Union for a chance to see the MSU men’s basketball team face Duke in Indianapolis tomorrow. “It’s (about) the experience,” Van Oostenburg said with a smile. “I have to support my guys.” For the second time in as many years, the Spartans have made it to the Sweet 16. However, unlike last year, the game is only a four-hour drive down
I-69 to Indiana, as opposed to a 29-hour drive to Phoenix. This is the third time in two years Indianapolis has hosted an MSU postseason game. Just 15 months ago, MSU football made the trek down to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship game to take on Wisconsin. MSU lost, 42-39. Three months later, the city played host to the Big Ten basketball tournament, where the Spartans earned a trophy at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. MSU fans can only hope this trip to Indy ends more like the latter than the former. ‘Zoned out Van Oostenburg and about 20 others lined up outside the Izzone office Tuesday for a chance to purchase one of
the roughly 40 tickets available through the MSU student section. However, that does not mean the Spartans will be poorly represented. While it can’t compete with Chicago in terms of sheer numbers, Indianapolis is a significant hub for MSU alumni. Rick Doyle, president of the MSU Alumni of Central Indiana, estimated the number of MSU alumni in the Indianapolis area to be “a couple thousand,” and said the association maintains a database of 500 area alumni email addresses. Besides the 40 tickets sold directly by the Izzone, Izzone members also will make the journey south on their own. Brandon Heins, one of the See INDY on page 2 X
To check out a map of Indianapolis’ must-visits, go to statenews.com.
… unless there is another complaint, they do not check back to see if universities have updated their policies Sanfilippo. Based on the state fire prevention code, colleges and universities such as MSU are required to conduct eight fire drills and two tornado drills in each of the residence halls and facilities with classrooms each year, preferably one each month, Sanfi lippo said. University spokesman Jason Cody said the university conducts eight fire drills and two tornado drills in each of the residence halls each year. But, MSU only conducts one annual fire and tornado drill for each other campus building — putting them in violation, according to Sanfilippo. Cody said the university has limited resources, including personnel and time, and chooses to focus on residence halls for fire and tornado drills. “We are to continue to operate as we always have, doing everything we can to protect the safe-
See DRILLS on page 2 X
Right-to-work laws go into effect today — MSU, East Lansing prepare By Kellie Rowe rowekell@msu.edu THE STATE NEWS ■■
Michigan’s right-to-work law, giving employees the ability to opt out of joining workplace unions, takes effect today — a change that will affect some MSU and city unions. Although few unions will see immediate changes, this could lead to new means of negotiation between employers and
employees. Contracts in place before today will remain valid until they expire, but several unions created new contracts in the months following the bill’s passage to skirt the effects of the law for a few more years. About 41 school districts and fi ve universities, including the University of Michigan and Wayne State University, approved new contracts before the law took effect Thurs-
“Too bad all of us didn’t do it. What were they going to do? Cut funding to all universities?” Penny Gardner, president of the Union of Nontenure-Track Faculty at MSU
day, according to USA Today. During its Tuesday work session, East Lansing City Council approved four union contracts with unions extending through June 2016.
EAST LANSING
Park Planning Team reviews developers By Michael Koury kourymic@msu.edu THE STATE NEWS ■■
The city of East Lansing is taking the next steps on six proposals for a site formerly proposed to be a part of the failed, financially unstable City Center II project. After reviewing the qualifications of each proposal submitted to develop the Park District Area, the Park District Planning Area Review Team discussed the low marks all of the developers
received Tuesday at City Hall. The Tuesday discussion raised questions about the face of the developers and how the review team can properly evaluate their qualification and ability to transform their vision of downtown into a reality. Pat Wolf, a member of the Council of Neighborhood Presidents, said he wants the developers to fill in the parts of their proposals they left absent when listing their criteria. “The question is then, how do
you evaluate someone who has essentially provided no information,” Wolf said. Members worried about accountability with the seemingly unclear leaders of the proposals, and Wolf was not the only review team member who expressed concern with the lack of information the developers submitted. “They weren’t necessarily careful about giving full infor-
See PARK on page 2 X
House Republicans have proposed legislation to punish universities and municipalities that agreed to new contracts between Dec. 10, 2012 — the day Gov. Rick Snyder signed
the right-to-work into law — and Thursday. The city of East Lansing could face more than $450,000 in state funding cuts, although a provision in the contracts enables the city and the union to renegotiate in case the legislation passes. “We’re going to continue to advocate to the legislature that this penalty is inappropriate and try and get it removed from the budget,” Triplett said
in a previous interview. MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon said at last week’s Steering Committee that MSU will honor all existing union contracts and currently has none open. Dan Clark, president of the MSU Graduate Employees Union, said the GEU considered recontracting before Thursday, but MSU chose not
See UNIONS on page 2 X
Izzo getting in the zone Head coach Tom Izzo walks to the bus to leave for Indiana for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at Breslin Center. The Spartans play against Duke on Friday night. —Katie Stiefel/The State News
See SWEET 16 on page 8