Tuesday 9/3/13

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statenews.com | 9/3/13 | @thesnews Michigan State University’s independent voice

One shot

Wet and wild weather

Olin Health officials recommend vaccinations to students

View a gallery of the game’s rain delay at statenews.com

campus + city, PAGE 3

Attendees evacuate Spartan Stadium after severe weather Friday. Julia Nagy/The State News

statenews.com

tale of two teams

Defense impresses, offense falters in soggy win over Western Michigan

photos by Julia Nagy/The State News

Junior punter Mike Sadler high-fives fans after the win against Western Michigan Friday at Spartan Stadium. The Spartans defeated the Broncos, 26-13.

By Stephen Brooks sbrooks@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn

One side produced a pair of touchdowns, a No. 1 play on “SportsCenter’s” top plays and nearly every celMSU 26 ebratory cheer from the crowd WMU 13 of 71,214. The other managed one touchdown, less than 300 total yards and a handful of boos. Since the end of last year, football head coach Mark Dantonio has spoken countless times about “finding the inches” this fall to avoid the narrow losses and slips that defined the Spartans’ 2012 season. In Friday night’s 26-13 win against Western Michigan, the evident gap between MSU’s (1-0 overall) offense and defense seemed like miles. “Obviously when you look at the things and you look at our defense, our defense played outstanding,” Dantonio said durspartan football

DILLON DAVIS ddavis@statenews.com

Maxwell must improve under pressure

ing his Sunday conference call after reviewing film against the Broncos. “When you look at our offense, obviously, I felt like we had missed opportunities. We need to be more consistent throwing the ball and, I think, running the football. I think we can play better and what I saw were a couple guys dropping the ball where they had not dropped them earlier this fall camp.”

hour, Western Michigan backup quarterback Zach Terrell came in and threw a 14-yard touchdown on the first pass of his collegiate career. The game then was tied with 6:14 left in the second quarter with starter Tyler Van Tubbergen sidelined because of an injury. The Spartan offense reached the end zone for the first and only time of the night 22 seconds away from halftime by way of a 2-yard dive from junior running back Jeremy Langford. The good feelings quickly washed away, though, when a botched snap ruined the extra point kick, giving MSU just a 13-7 lead. MSU’s advantage grew to 12 with a pair of field goals in the third quarter off the foot of senior kicker Kevin Muma. The margin got even more comfortable six minutes into the fourth quarter when sophomore defensive end Shilique Calhoun returned a fumble forced by

Busting the Broncos After nearly picking off Western Michigan’s first pass of the game, junior safety Kurtis Drummond suddenly found the ball in his hands on the Broncos’ next possession. In his first game at linebacker, senior Jairus Jones snagged an interception before quickly pitching to a trailing Drummond, who dashed 21 yards halfway through the first quarter for MSU’s first touchdown of the season. Once play resumed following a weather delay of almost an

See FOOTBALL on page 2 u

Junior safety Kurtis Drummond intercepts a pass as Western Michigan’s Corey Davis looks on Friday at Spartan Stadium. The Spartans defeated the Broncos, 26-13, with a strong defensive showing.

These days, it’s difficult not to respect Andrew Maxwell. For more than a year, the senior quarterback has been hounded by fans and media with questions about the merit of his right arm, his decision making and the ineptitude of MSU’s offense. And each time, Maxwell has met criticism with consistently polite answers, often deflecting his personal pressure for the best interests of the team. It’s one of Maxwell’s most noble qualities, cut from a similar cloth as his predecessor Kirk Cousins, who won over the Spartan faith-

ful with back-to-back 11 win seasons and a Big Ten championship in 2010. Unlike his predecessor, Maxwell continues to struggle and the Spartans’ offense has struggled right along with him since he took over prior to the 2012 campaign. And despite being only one game into a new season, the continued faith in Maxwell should be a cause for concern. During Friday’s 26-13 victory against Western Michigan, Maxwell was 11-of-21 passing for 74 yards, while splitting repetitions with sophomore Connor Cook.

Despite opening the game on a 5-of-5 tear, dropped passes and inconsistency permanently interrupted the flow of the offense, allowing the team’s defense to bear the weight of the scoring. There’s plenty of fault to go around when analyzing the team’s offensive shortcomings. After all, the Spartans only managed 297 total yards of offense against the Broncos, struggling to string together successful drives and punting the ball 11 times. At this rate, junior punter Mike Sadler’s foot might shrivel up and fall off.

Maxwell’s own struggles were highlighted as the MSU student section worked its way into a “We want Terry” chant Friday evening, in reference to freshman quarterback Damion Terry — the fan-anointed white knight of the offense. The shortcomings of Maxwell and Cook further open the door to take a look at Terry and redshirt freshman Tyler O’Connor in the coming weeks. On a Sunday teleconference, football head coach Mark Dantonio wouldn’t tip his hand if a change is imminent at QB. “First of all, those decisions are

made in-house and will be shared with the players involved as we move forward,” Dantonio said. “I’m not prepared to answer that question at this point in time.” Now there were a lot factors working against Maxwell on Friday, most notably a rash of drops by the wide receivers and the hour-long weather delay. Throwing Cook into the mix at various turns couldn’t have helped much, either. It’s tough to find a rhythm when the coaches keep chang-

See COLUMN on page 2 u

To see the coaching staff’s thoughts on MSU’s victory against Western, visit statenews.com/multimedia.

l e g i s l at i o n

construction

Renovations on south side of river marijuana makes Lansing ballot for Nov. trail postponed until summer 2014 By Michael Gerstein

By Simon Schuster sschuster@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn

Major renovations to the south side of MSU’s trail on the Red Cedar River, which were slated to begin this week, have been postponed until summer 2014. Vice President of Strategic Infrastructure, Planning and Facilities Ron Flinn announced the postponement Friday in an email addressed to MSU faculty and leadership. “In response to the campus

community’s concerns about the impacts the MSU River Trail project would cause to pedestrians and bicyclists this fall, Infrastructure Planning and Facilities has reevaluated the project and rescheduled it for summer 2014,” Flinn said in the memo. When finished, the trails will include both pedestrian and bicycle lanes, similar to the portion between Kellogg Center and the Sparty statue on the west side of campus. The decision was announced only one day after Flinn sent a formal announcement to cam-

pus officials of the impending construction in an email. The construction would have restricted access to the river trail from Wells to Erikson halls from Sept. 3 through 13, and from the Sparty statue to Wells Hall from Sept. 16 through Oct. 25. The trail is a well-traveled thoroughfare for pedestrians and bicyclists getting around campus and commuting to class. The plan is aimed at improving the safety of the river trail, See CAMPUS on page 2 u

mgerstein@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn

Lansing residents will see a new ballot initiative to decriminalize recreational marijuana use in November, but it remains unclear whether visiting MSU students will be able to light up without fear. City Clerk Chris Swope certified a proposal last week that would allow the use, possession or transfer of less than one ounce of marijuana on private property in Lansing for those aged 21 or old-

er. The initiative will come before voters in the Nov. 6 election. Whether this would legalize the drug is a matter of interpretation, Swope said, saying that local police still could arrest people for possession, even if the initiative is voted in.

Editorial Board: Pot initiative not a step forward, see page 4 Marijuana possession remains a punishable offense under state and federal law. Jeff Hank, an attorney who

spearheaded a petition for the measure, said he is confident it will pass and hopes police will support it. “We’ve had enough,” Hank said. “We want a change in policy, and if (politicians) are not going to do it, then the people are going to do it themselves. We hope police resources are spent on real crimes.” Hank said police officers and judges have contacted him in the past to profess their support for ending “marijuana prohibition,” but because of a public stigma, he said he thinks many remain See MARIJUANA on page 2 u


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