ASMSU cutting back campus paper distribution
Wharton Center hosting ‘American Idiot’ this week
See The State News’ picks for the best of MSU sports SU winter sp ports
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CAMPUS
Communication senior Ta’Janae Ford holds her son, Noah Adkins, 2, at their house Monday on Dunckel Road. The graduating senior bought two sets of caps and gowns -— one for her and one for her son ahead of the commencement this May.
EMMY WINNER, AUTHOR COMING TO CAMPUS FOR GRADUATION By Samantha Radecki radeckis@msu.edu THE STATE NEWS ■■
PHOTOS BY JUSTIN WAN/THE STATE NEWS
LABOR OF LOVE By Milan Griffes and Christine LaRouere griffes4@msu.edu, larouer4@msu.edu THE STATE NEWS ■■
While many students now are feeling the stress of the semester, some manage the academic workload in combination of raising a child. For student-parents like Jessica Edwards, that challenge is an everyday reality. Edwards, a human development and family studies senior, has attended MSU for the past three years while simultaneously raising her daughter, Jayla Bragg. “I go to school, work, and at the end, I (have) a 3-year-old,” Edwards said. “It’s kind of hard, but I’ve done it for three years now, going on four.” Life as a student-parent is much different from that of a traditional student. Unlike school-
Student-parents deal with unique challenges while at MSU
work and class, the responsibilities of a parent do not have deadlines or a firm schedule. Parents are on duty at all times. “On Friday, we can’t just say, ‘Let’s go to a party!’” Edwards said. “I have a child. So what am I doing? … More than likely, I’ll be at home, doing homework.”
Steps to success The task of raising a child properly while trying to make it through college successfully might seem impossible at first glance. But student-parents, including Edwards, Ta’Janae Ford and Tya Allen, are proving it can be done. Allen, also a human development and family studies senior, is the mother of 2-year-old Jaylen Young. “That’s the shocking thing, that I’ve actually made it this See PARENTS on page 2 X
Communication senior Ta’Janae Ford tries to put her son Noah Adkins, 2, to sleep at their house Monday on Dunckel Road.
To see an interview with a student-parent at MSU, visit statenews.com/multimedia.
BUDGET
Emmy Award-winning actor Tim Busfield and best-selling author Richard Ford will be MSU ’s spring commencement speakers. Busfield, an East Lansing native, will speak to students at the 1 Busfield p.m. assembly May 3 at Breslin Center. He will receive an honorary doctorate of humanities. International researcher Brian Harvey, who is a professor at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, also will speak at that ceremony, receiving an honorary doctorate of science. Ford, an MSU alumnus, will speak at the 3:30 p.m. convocation at Breslin and will receive an honorary doctorate of fi ne arts. Busfield’s most recognized work includes his roles on TV shows “Thirtysomething” and “The West Wing.” He also has had acted in “Field of Dreams” and “Revenge of the Nerds.” Ford is known for his books “Independence Day,” “The Sportswriter” and, most recently, “Canada,” a New York Times’ 2012 best seller. MSU spokesman Jason Cody said MSU typically does not compensate speakers directly, although sometimes a hiring agency is employed to choose a speaker. He could not comment on if MSU employed an agency or if the university paid the speakers directly. “Tim Busfield and Richard Ford have made some memorable contributions to the arts, and I’m sure their passion and dedication will inspire our graduates — who are stepping out now onto their own life stage,” MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon said in an MSU press release. Some MSU students said they See SPEAKERS on page 2 X
EVENT
City council discusses 2014 Students upset as Ne-Yo concert cancelled fiscal year budget plans By Robert Bondy & Katie Abdilla
By Michael Koury kourymic@msu.edu THE STATE NEWS ■■
The East Lansing City Council and city officials feel good about the future of the city during its budget talks despite an almost $2 million decrease from the previous fiscal year’s budget. Leaders from all city departments came together to discuss the budget for the first time during the first of several scheduled work sessions the city will undergo for its budget discussions, with a budget scheduled to be adopted on May 21. The total funds for the city for the next fiscal year add up to about $66.88 million, a 2.71 percent decrease from the previous year’s budget of $68.74 million. This is in contrast to the change from the 2012 fiscal year budget to the 2013 fiscal year budget, in which the budget dropped by more than $9 million, resulting in the city seeing major spending cuts. “It feels a lot better than in oth-
East Lansing 2014 budget Compared to 2013 fiscal year
bondyrob@msu.edu abdillak@msu.edu THE STATE NEWS ■■
Total funds -2.7%
2013 $68.74m 2014 $66.88m
General Fund -2.5%
2013 $32.27m 2014 $31.46m
Total Street Funds -1.1%
2013 $3.67m 2014 $3.63m
Water Supply System +2.1%
2013 $3.44m 2014 $3.51m
Sewage Disposal System +9.7%
2013 $10.18m 2014 $11.16m
SOURCE: EAST L ANSING CIT Y DOCUMENTS
er years,” Mayor Diane Goddeeris said of the budget. The city has faced financial hardships during the past See MONEY on page 2 X
With the cancellation of NeYo’s performance, originally scheduled for Thursday at Breslin Center, there has been a collective sigh of student disappointment. ASMSU Director of Public Relations Haley Dunnigan said the decision to cancel the concert was decided by ASMSU, MSU’s undergraduate student government, but involved several other stakeholders. She said the cancellation, announced late Tuesday afternoon via ASMSU’s Twitter page, came as a result of low ticket sales, and she knew it was likely to shock students. “I feel like students will be surprised,” Dunnigan said. “But there are people who support what we do, and there are people who have never supported what we do.” ASMSU announced the concert at the end of March, with pop group Hot Chelle Rae
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL MUSIC/MOTOWN RECORDS
Artist Ne-Yo was set to play Breslin Center Thursday. The concert was announced by ASMSU earlier this semester.
announced as the opening act the following week. At a meeting on Feb. 21, the general assembly voted to allocate up to $250,000 for the concert, but they currently don’t know how much of that mon-
ey the organization will lose from the cancellation, Dunnigan said. Hospitality business sophomore Candace Lai had tickets for the concert but isn’t necessarily upset with the can-
cellation — but how it was announced. “I’m not that upset about it being cancelled, but more of the way it got cancelled,” Lai said. “I wasn’t aware of it, and that’s not right for the Breslin Center to not notify the people who have spent money on tickets.” Although she did not plan on attending, anthropology junior Kelsey Mulholland said she thought Breslin Center completely had sold out of tickets for the concert. “I’ve seen a lot of people posting on Facebook groups asking for tickets, and that made me think they were sold out,” Mulholland said. But interdisciplinary studies in social science junior Allyson Huver said the R&B singer’s switch to producing could have affected his popularity and caused ticket sales to plummet. “I know that he makes songs for people now, so he’s kinda old school,” Huver said. “People wanna see pop, and R&B is See MUSIC on page 2 X