Thursday 5/15/14

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East Lansing Art Festival returns this weekend

statenews.com | 5/15/14 | @thesnews Michigan State University’s independent voice

The Ragbirds, Whiskey Pickers and The Appleseed Collective among performances scheduled for Saturday, Sunday Sports+features, pG. 5

Animals in need After slow winter, Ingham County Animal Shelter near capacity. Haslett, Mich. resident Paige Corp, Wednesday Danyelle Morrow/The State News

campus+city, PAGE 3

environment

National Climate Assessment brings implications for MSU By Colleen Otte cotte@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn

Danyelle Morrow/The State News

Officers escort East Lansing resident Ricard Taylor to a police vehicle Monday outside of a home in the 1800 block of Coolidge between West Saginaw St. and West Lake Lansing Road. Taylor faces seven felony charges.

LOOKING FOR ANSWERS

Monday’s shootings shook MSU, local community

State News File Photo

From left, East Lansing residents Taro and Ricard Taylor street perform Oct. 30 2013, on Grand River Ave. At the time, the Taylor brothers performed locally on the street and at various open mic nights.

By Olivia Dimmer odimmer@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn

W

hen the last police car pulled away and the pouring rain subsided Monday afternoon, two were dead and a community was left with more questions than answers. One of those killed, Michael Addo, was a Rite Aid pharmacist who wanted to one day return to Ghana. The other, Jordan Rogers, would have soon been a stepfather to three young girls. East Lansing resident Ricard Walter Taylor, 34, is the only suspect in the

See RICARD on page 2 u

Danyelle Morrow/The State News

Members of the Lansing Police Department respond to a shooting on Monday, at Rite Aid, 3106 E. Saginaw St. The suspect fled on foot after firing shots, killing an employee.

The third National Climate Assessment, released by the Obama administration on May 6, found that climate change is affecting the U.S. Of course, that includes MSU. Julie Winkler, an MSU professor in the department of geography, assisted in developing background documents for the midwest section of the assessment. She said the changes that could affect MSU specifically include the rising temperatures, given that many campus buildings are not air conditioned, and the increased frequency of intense precipitation, which could potentially cause more flooding of the Red Cedar River. Winkler also said that climate change’s effect on agriculture and the economy could have indirect impacts on MSU. The report was created by more than 300 experts, guided by a 60-member Federal Advisory Committee and reviewed by the public, federal agencies and a panel of the National Academy of Sciences. It summarizes the current and future impacts of climate change on the United States. T he assessment discusses a l l aspec ts of c li mate change, including such topics as extreme weather, human health, infrastructure, ecosystems and biodiversity, water supply, and agriculture. Bruno Basso, agroecosystem scientist and professor in MSU’s department of Geological Sciences and at the Kellogg Biological Station, said the report is “striking, but not new, as the scientific community is already aware of what is happening and how all these changes will affect our daily life.” Basso shared Winkler’s concerns about climate change’s i nd i rec t ef fec t s. He sa id extreme variability in weather — excessive rains and longer periods of draughts — have substantial effects on agriculture. “The university has always invested in targeting a pool of scientists to look at this problem,” Basso said. “The way the university life works is that the priority is always to be green as much as possible with recycling and being environmentally friendly.” To achieve this, campus planner Stephen Troost said that all decisions made regarding campus organization are based on certain principles.

See CLIMATE on page 2 u

S e n at e

“Revenge porn” bill would treat nonconsenting online photos as misdemeanors By Michael Kransz mkransz@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn

Two bills introduced in the state Senate on May 1 would, if passed, criminalize “revenge porn,” or the posting of sexually-explicit photos to the internet without the consent of the subject and with the intent to “frighten, intimidate, or harass.” The bipartisan effort, spearheaded by Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, and Sen. Steve Bieda, D-Warren, also criminalizes the refusal to remove

sexually-explicit photos from the Internet unless the subject had signed a release for its posting. The offenses, both posting revenge porn and refusing to take it down, would be treated as misdemeanors, with punishments up to 90 days imprisonment and/or a maximum fine of $500. “You have to get tough enough so people won’t do this activity,” Jones said. “If they’re only risking a fine, then they may go ahead and do it.” Similar state-level legislative efforts have been sweeping

the U.S. Within the past two years, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia and 27 states have introduced legislation to specifically combat the posting of revenge porn. Currently, seven states, Arizona, California, Georgia, Idaho, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin, have enacted legislation against revenge porn. The trend is a result of the growing discontent among victims that they are, for the most part, unable to use legal action to remove the photos in quesSee REVENGE on page 2 u

Introduced/Pending Legislation Enacted Legislation No Current Legislation Source: NCSL .org/ Gr aphic By Haley Kluge


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