statenews.com | 8/4/14 | @thesnews
3,100 miles, all on foot
One of EL’s oldest
Kaminski to leave MSU
MSU employee Ken Dawson plans to trek the continental divide in 150 days at age 64.
Twichell’s Dry Cleaning has long history cleaning the clothing of countless students — and one U.S. President
Basketball forward Kenny Kaminski took to Twitter to announce his departure from MSU
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Michigan State University’s independent voice
part of the process
Corey Damocles/The State News
Social relations and policy and comparative cultures and politics senior Ryan Miller poses for a portrait Friday at the Michigan State Capitol. Miller is interning with the Michigan House of Representatives.
Despite statistically low participation, some students are on the front line By Meagan Beck mbeck@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn
In the upcoming weeks, candidate commercials will air on TV, signs will fill lawns and campaigners will go door-to-door to raise awareness for legislators. This is an election year. Michigan’s primary will be held on August 5, but voter turnout is usually less than the general election which will take place on November 4. During the primary, voters are given the chance to nominate candidates on a partisan ticket. While voting in the primary election is unpopular among the general public, student involvement in politics is even less so. Students are capable of registering to vote using their school address, but misinformation claiming they could lose financial aid or dependency status steers some students away from the ballot box. Unpopularity in politics Social relations and policy and comparative cultures and politics senior Ryan Miller said people tend to be skeptical about
politics. “Quite frankly, people think it’s like a dirty game,” Miller said. While the subject of politics and the act of voting come off as unpopular, associate professor of political science Matt Grossmann said students should care about voting because the government plays a huge role in students’ lives. Attending a state university partially funded by the government is one reason, Grossmann said, students should be politically informed. However, Grossmann said students are more likely to vote in the general elections than the primary elections. But MSU College Republicans Chairperson and public policy senior Lisa Jankowski said the primary elections are important. Not voting in the primary elections gives voters less of an opportunity to have a choice in who represents them. “If you don’t get involved before the general election ... you only get to choose between two candidates,” Grossmann said. Among students, Grossmann said the national election holds more popularity than the state election.
Jankowski said students should educate themselves and not rely on social media when it comes to voting. “As Americans, we have a responsibility to know who is representing us,” Jankowski said. A learning experience While student participation in the political process on the whole may be low, some MSU students make a point of participating through internships with political campaigns and at Michigan’s Capitol, which stands just miles from MSU’s campus. Miller said in classes taken through James Madison College, he is exposed to politics, but this s u m me r he dove de e p e r i nto t he For a quick topic through an primer on priinternship. Miller is an mary voting i nter n for Rep. Andy Schor (D-Lanaround EL, see sing) at the House of Representatives. page 2. See RACE on page 2 u
Football camp has begun Head coach Mark Dantonio addressed the young defensive line on Saturday Danyelle Morrow/The State News
Redshirt freshman Evan Jones participates in practice drills, Saturday at the practice field outside Duffy Daugherty Football Building.
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police
Student led to discovery of remains on south campus Human remains found near the south end of MSU’s campus Friday could be tied to a Lansing missing persons case, MSU spokesman Jason Cody said on Friday. The remains were discovered west of Dunckel Road and the U.S. 127 freeway interchange in Lansing. “A research student was checking some of the plots they have over there on Thursday, discovered several items and called police,” Cody said. After contacting police, a search of the area by State Police dogs led to the discovery of human remains. The personal items could be tied to a missing persons in Lansing, Cody said, but could not provide any further details about the items or an tentative identity of the remains. Since the remains were found on MSU property, the death investigation will be led by MSU police, Cody said, but Lansing police will continue to head the missing persons aspect of the investigation. An autopsy on the remains was performed on Saturday by the Ingham County Medical Examiner’s Office. Pending the results of the autopsy, police may have information about the identity of the remains and whether foul play may have been a factor in the individual’s death. MSU police said more information regarding the autopsy will be released Monday morning. Simon Schuster and Casey Holland
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the latest on the discovery Check statenews.com for updates on the case Monday, when police are expected to release autopsy results and may provide further information about the discovery of human remains.
D o n at i o n
Engineering will receive $2 mil. endowment A senior Google employee and MSU alumnus will be including a $2 million endowment to the MSU College of Engineering in his will, the university announced last week. An endowment, unlike a cash donation, is invested and the dividends the investments produce are given to MSU. Doug Zongker, the donor, graduated from MSU in 1996 with a degree in computer science. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without the tools and training that I got during my years at Michigan State University,” Zongker said in a statement released by the university. Steve Bates, the director of development and alumni relations, said the donation comes a time when computer science graduates are becomSee GIFT on page 2 u