weekend
JULIA NAGY/THE STATE NEWS
Lansing Unionized Vaudeville Spectacle singer Teri Brown.
Michigan State University’s independent voice | statenews.com
| 6/13/13 | @thesnews
Series of plays free of cost on campus this month SPORTS+FEATURES, PAGE 6
See if you wash your hands properly CAMPUS+CITY, PAGE 5
BRAINSTORMING
Witness how music impacts lives of locals CAMPUS+CITY, PAGE 5
MSU looks to become leading brain research institution with diverse research portfolio
Graduate student Jon Bomar works in a lab on Wednesday at the Life Sciences Building as an artery from the gut of a rat is portrayed on a screen.
By Derek Kim
THE STATE NEWS ■■
The East Lansing Planning Commission unanimously approved an application for the property at 1600 E. Grand River Ave. to convert the existing extended stay hotel to an apartment complex at the commission’s meeting Wednesday night. East Lansing Community Development Analyst Timothy Schmitt presented the plan and said it will be passed on to city council. “A major issue of the site is that it was designed under a much older standard … that does not meet minimum site requirements,” Schmitt said.
To see a video about brain research at MSU, visit statenews. com/ multimedia.
Application to turn a Grand River Avenue property into apartments unanimously approved
By Omar Thabet
othabet@tstatenews.com THE STATE NEWS ■■
I
t didn’t take long for James Galligan, director of the MSU Neuroscience Program, to answer a question seemingly simple in nature, but amazingly complex in reality: How would you describe the functions of the human brain? “Overwhelming,” Galligan said. “Trying to comprehend the most
complex organ in the human body is the next guiding theme for scientists nationally and at MSU. Going to the moon was one thing, and now it’s understanding the brain.” MSU’s brain-research portfolio is among the most diverse in the nation. Faculty members and undergraduate students across campus are digging into the antique secrets of the brain from just about every imaginable angle. Laura Symonds, director of the undergraduate neuroscience program,
See BRAIN on page 2 X
Graduate student Jon Bomar prepares a sample of a rat’s artery on Wednesday in a lab at the Life Sciences Building. Bomar is a member of the MSU Neuroscience Program.
CRIME
BUSINESS
ROBBERY SUSPECT ARRESTED IN LANSING
What Up Dawg? considers opening new Lansing location
rjwolcott@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS ■■
A suspect connected with two unarmed robberies that took place on Wednesday has been apprehended by the East Lansing Police Department after leading officers on a chase into Lansing. The suspects abandoned their vehicle and fled on foot, as officers arrested the driver of the vehicle near Clippert Street and Michigan Avenue. Police still are searching for the three other individuals connected with the robberies. The four suspects are connected to two robberies that took place just after midnight in an alleyway north of the Marriott at University Place. The first victim had her purse ripped from her by a suspect described as being approximately 5-foot-9 and possessing a medium build, according to police officials. The second victim also was near the alley when she was approached by two black males, one of whom grabbed her iPhone out of her hand.
See ROBBERY on page 2 X
E.L. Planning Commission to develop apartments dkim@statenews.com
PHOTOS BY JULIA NAGY/THE STATE NEWS
By RJ Wolcott
DEVELOPMENT
By Michael Kransz mkransz@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS ■■
The specialty hot dog shop and bar, What Up Dawg?, 317 M.A.C. Ave., is in talks with a downtown Lansing bar complex to open a new location, a co-owner confirmed. “We think it’s a great idea,” Seth Tompkins, coowner of What Up Dawg?, said. “Downtown Lansing has been really good to us.” An undisclosed bar complex owner saw What Up Dawg?’s Lansing hot dog cart and sparked the idea to open a location within his bar, Tompkins said. It ’s a l l “ hop e s a nd dreams,” as all four of What Up Dawg?’s co-owners currently are weighing the costs and benefits before reaching a consensus required for the decision, Tompkins said. “It takes a lot of hot dogs to sell to make $4,000 to $5,000 dollars,” Tompkins joked. T he Lansing location would be a small storefront in a bar area featuring a limited menu and kitchen, and would sell alcohol under a
The current property, composed of three two-story buildings and a one-story maintenance building, was built in 1984 based on a site plan approval from 1982. It is currently branded as Gatehouse Suites but was once a Residence Inn. The proposed development does not involve any exterior changes. Instead, the proposal would change the use of the building to become more appropriate for longer-term rental, largely targeted toward the MSU student population. The current hotel has a total of 60 suites, including 44 studios and 16 studios with lofts. See PLANNING on page 2 X
“My goal is sustainability. I want my place to be around long enough for people to come back and say ‘I want What Up Dawg?’” Seth Tompkins, co-owner of What Up Dawg?
concession license, Tompkins said. The new location would be open in conjunction with the bar and for certain events, he added. Jared Lawton, another coowner of the restaurant, said the decision is a natural one for the business. “Business-wise it’s a great idea for us,” Lawton said. “It gets our name and product out there.” A nother location means more income during the summer, which was the same reason What Up Dawg? created the Lansing and summer festival food carts, Tompkins said. “You have a business in East Lansing and see a tremendous drop, whereas you don’t in Lansing,” Tompkins said. “Not to say East Lansing doesn’t hop when the students are around, but it’s a desert in the summertime.” There also would be a serving cart outside in addition to the indoor hot dog shop,
Andrew Jasmer, worker at What Up Dawg?, said. “They’ve got a patio and you can see the stadium all lit up,” Jasmer said. “It’s an indoor (and) outdoor experience.” Jasmer said the allure of What Up Dawg? includes several factors that make it stand out from the downtown East Lansing pack, from strangebut-tasty hot dog concoctions to a personal atmosphere. “If we’ve seen you before we tend to recognize you,” Jasmer said. “It’s a more personable than the other bars where you get served and shoved away.” Tompkins said he wants to develop a long-standing restaurant similar to his favorite local bar, Crunchy’s, because of all the memories he created there through the many burgers and beers. “My goal is sustainability,” Tompkins said. “I want my place to be around long enough for people to come back and say ‘I want What Up Dawg?’”
WESTON BROOKS/THE STATE NEWS
Anthropology senior Andrew Jasmer cuts up a green pepper on Wednesday at What Up Dawg?, 317 M.A.C. Ave. The restaurant offers a wide variety of hot dogs, including coney dogs and other specialty items.