Freshman guard Gary Harris NATALIE KOLB/THE STATE NEWS
weekend Michigan State University’s independent voice | statenews.com | East Lansing, Mich. | Friday, April 19, 2013
Austism, tremors won’t hold MSU student back CAMPUS+CITY, PAGE 3
Raining on the parade: Kaskade concert cancelled FEATURES, PAGE 7
Gary Harris commits to at least 1 more year at MSU STATENEWS.COM
ASMSU IN JEOPARDY OF LOSING STUDENT TAX FUNDING By Robert Bondy bondyrob@msu.edu THE STATE NEWS ■■
ASMSU, MSU’s undergraduate student government, faces the risk of losing student tax funding after deciding to decline passing a bill to turn the group into an official university department and transfer funds to the university financial system at the general assembly meeting Thursday night. ASMSU President Evan Mar-
tinak said although he is unsure of the timeline for the university’s reaction, he expects ASMSU’s tax funds to be withheld. In previous interviews, Martinak said student taxes are ASMSU’s main source of funding. “I was told at a meeting that in-action will definitely lead to the freezing and withholding of tax dollars,” Martinak said. “We have been given sort of a categorical imperative.” In a memo sent to Martinak from Vice President for Finance
More online … To see copies of the memorandum to ASMSU and the bill that did not pass at tonight’s meeting, visit statenews.com
and Treasurer Mark Haas and Interim Vice President for Student Affairs and Services Denise Maybank, ASMSU was told it would lose control of student tax funds unless the bill was passed. “Failure to complete the transfer of funds by the deadline will result in withholding of any fur-
ther tax dollars until such time as the transfers are completed,” the memo sent from Haas and Maybank stated, citing the deadline of April 5. Martinak said the situation is “uncharted territory” for the organization. Vice President for Internal Administration Denzel
BAND OF OTHERS
McCampbell had strong feelings against the move to become a university department. McCampbell said the move would take away the students’ rights and remove services the organization currently offers, such as free iClicker rentals. ASMSU College of Music Representative K.C. Perlberg said moving all funds on campus would not benefit the students, stating “I stand by the students.” ASMSU Vice President for Gov-
ernmental Affairs Dylan Miller said after to talking to other Big Ten student governments, the group realized they are one of the rare student governments that is not under university control. Martinak is planning to see what the organization can do to work with the university. “What we’ll do is try to represent the views of the general assembly (and) work to some kind of solution,” Martinak said. “We’ll see what common ground can be met or made here.”
CRIME
E.L. bands pride themselves on unique personas, local base
NATALIE KOLB/THE STATE NEWS
Okemos resident Connor McCowan sits next to his attorney, Chris Bergstrom, during the preliminary exam of the fatal stabbing of MSU student Andrew Singler on Thursday.
ENOUGH EVIDENCE AGAINST MCCOWAN FOR MURDER TRIAL By Summer Ballentine ballent8@msu.edu THE STATE NEWS ■■
ADAM TOOLIN/THE STATE NEWS
From left to right, saxophone player George Falk, arts and humanities sophomore Isaac Berkowitz and finance senior Chris Bota of Desmond Jones play Saturday on Turner Street in Old Town. Comprised almost entirely of MSU students, Desmond Jones is an up-and-coming jam band playing frequent concerts in Greater Lansing.
By Katie Abdilla abdillak@msu.edu THE STATE NEWS ■■
I
t all started with a lone ukulele. When his band members went their separate ways post-graduation in 2009, MSU alumnus Dylan Rogers longed to stay in Lansing, where he grew up. So he took to the streets with a ukulele, a harmonica rack and a kick drum, not quite sure what he hoped to find. Now, with about 14 members, some historical inspiration and the occasional flame shooter, he has found his band, his other family. They are The Lansing Unionized Vaudeville Spectacle, and the streets of Lansing are their stage. Among others, The Lansing Unionized Vaudeville Spectacle, or LUVS, has become part of a community of bands within East Lansing and Lansing, each with their own personal ties to MSU. “We are a family unit, which is incredibly beautiful,” Rogers said. “I feel very lucky to not only be able to make music with these great musicians, but also be able to spend all of my free time with peoK ATIE STIEFEL/THE STATE NEWS ple that I really enjoy being around. We all have this Director and lead singer of Lansing Unionized Vaudeville Spectacle, or LUVS, support system, and we’ve built a community.” Dylan Rogers, sings on March 2 at Mac’s Bar. Close to home Rather than expanding their name through nationwide tours and record deals, Rogers said it has remained especially important for the band to embrace the local scene, both through street performances and intimate shows at venues such as The Loft, in Lansing.
“(The music industry is) kinda this rat race and this competitive thing that, when I started as a solo musician five years ago, I didn’t wanna get wrapped up in,” he said. East Lansing spacey-folk band Desmond Jones, made up mostly of MSU students, can relate. Finance senior Chris Bota, the
band’s guitarist, said it’s more important to reflect inward rather than cater to audience demands. “The whole point of music is to express yourself,” Bota said. “People get hooked on ‘I wanna get famous’ or ‘I wanna make money off of this.’ It should be about having fun and doing what you wan-
na do and showing people what makes up your personality.” Arts and humanities sophomore Isaac Berkowitz, who plays guitar and sings for Desmond Jones, said he has found shows at MSU cooperative houses more enjoyable because it gives See BANDS on page 2 X
To watch video of a Desmond Jones playing at a recent practice and to hear interviews with the band members, visit statenews.com/multimedia.
Nutritional sciences senior Andrew Singler texted a series of profane messages to Okemos resident Connor McCowan the night he reportedly drove to Singler’s apartment and stabbed him until he fell bleeding onto the floor, Feb. 23, according to testimony from Meridian Township police Thursday at the 55th District Court in Mason. Judge Donald Allen ruled that based on the testimony and text messages presented during the preliminary hearing, there is enough evidence against McCowan for a jury to try him for murder. McCowan’s arraignment is scheduled for May 1 in Ingham County Circuit Court.
Text message records from McCowan’s phone painted a grim picture of the night Singler’s roommate and alumnus Tyler Aho said McCowan arrived at the door of his apartment with a flip blade. The morning he died, Singler was drunk and angry he could not find his keys to the apartment at Rothbury Road that he shared with his girlfriend, McCowan’s sister Shay, Aho testified in court. At the time of his death, his blood alcohol content was 0.124 percent and there were slight traces of marijuana in his system, said John Bechinski, a forensic pathologist at Lansing’s Sparrow Hospital. Aho said Singler blamed Shay for the lost keys, and according to pages of text messages read by Meridian Township police See MCCOWAN on page 2 X
L E G I S L AT U R E
New laws, legislation change 4/20 holiday By Holly Baranowski, Kellie Rowe and Darcie Moran
barano10@msu.edu, rowekell@ msu.edu, morandar@msu.edu THE STATE NEWS
Weed, pot or reefer — whatever you call it, marijuana will be under the spotlight this coming weekend. As the annual and unofficial “marijuana holiday” draws near, some marijuana users could be lighting up as usual, while others could be under tighter regulations. Saturday marks the infamous 4/20, a day many celebrate by smoking marijuana. Following the legalization of the substance in Washington and Colorado, thousands are expected to attend cele-
brations in the states and other parts of the country. Although Michigan allows marijuana for medical purposes — now with newer, stricter regulations — some believe a number of unregistered MSU students also might be smoking this weekend.
The holiday still might be different for medical marijuana users in Michigan under legislation that took effect earlier this month MSU Clery Crime and Fire Log does not suggest a particularly large climb in the numSee MARIJUANA on page 2 X