Friday 9/6/13

Page 1

weekend Michigan State University’s independent voice

statenews.com | 9/6/13 | @thesnews

after in-class rant, prof. relieved of courses By Geoff Preston gpreston@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn

English professor William Penn was relieved of his teaching responsibilities by the Office

of the Provost on Thursday but will remain a full-time employee of the university after an antiRepublican lecture last week that drew fire from university officials and students. "The dean of the College of Arts

and Letters and a representative from the provost's office met with Penn, who acknowledged that some of his comments were inappropriate, disrespectful and offensive, and may have negatively affected the learning environ-

ment," MSU spokesman Kent Cassella said in a statement. "Penn's teaching duties have been reassigned to others. Students' education will continue as scheduled with alternate instructors." During the class, Penn spoke

against Republicans for several minutes, verbally engaging with students in the process, according to in-class video taken by a student and posted on the conservative news site CampusReform.org. Penn called Republicans

"cheap," and said they had "raped" the country, among other things. The State News' attempt to contact Penn at his home Thursday were unsuccessful.

See PROFESSOR on page 2 u

spartans ready for South Florida MSU aiming for improvement on both sides of football in second home game By Stephen Brooks sbrooks@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn

As disappointing as last Friday’s season-opener against Western Michigan was for the Spartans, at least they won. South Florida — the second consecutive outmatched opponent the Spartans welcome to East Lansing — can’t say the same after being blasted at home 53-21 by McNeese State of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision. Guided by first-year head coach Willie Taggar t, the Bulls (0-1 overall) find themselves in similar territor y to MSU (1-0) despite opposite records, though. Heading into Saturday’s noon contest, both teams are trying to look

Senior linebacker Max Bullough directs teammates before a snap during their game against Western Michigan on Aug. 30, 2013, at Spartan Stadium. The Spartans defeated the Broncos, 26-13.

past first week letdowns while congruently seeking dramatic improvement. “They’ve got talent, they can run, they’re athletic,” head coach Mark Dantonio said. “Coach Taggart is in his first year, so this is a transitional game for him as he moves forward and we expect them to be better.” Taggart came to South Florida after spending three years rebuilding the program at his alma mater, Western Kentucky, to replace the fired Skip Holtz. The Bulls, in just their 13th season competing at the highest level of Division 1 football, reached a pinnacle during the 2007 season with a No. 2 ranking in the Associated Press

Danyelle Morrow/ The State News

See FOOTBALL on page 2 u Pleasant Ridge, Mich. resident Joe Stroker cooks on a portable grill on Aug. 30, 2013, outside of Spartan Stadium.

Tailgaters beware: MSU police to crack down on booze at Munn Field Sat. By Katie Abdilla and Simon Schuster kabdilla@statenews.com and sschuster@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS

“We brought a great deal of attention to it last year, and we still see some alcohol. We just want to maintain the original intent.”

nn

Tony Kleibecker, MSU police assistant director

An unusual amount of oncampus alcohol citations during game day tailgating festivities last week have MSU police ready to crack down on any alcohol found on Munn Field on Saturday. Campus police issued about 32 citations last Friday to tailgaters older than 21 for trespassing in an alcohol-free zone on Munn Field, MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said. She said several underage drinkers in the area also received minor in possession citations. With the exception of cam-

pus buildings and Munn Field, of-age fans can have alcohol any where within university grounds during official tailgating hours, as long as participants follow MSU's tailgating policies. Mc Glot h i a n-Tay lor s a id officers will have extra notifications in place at Munn Field this Saturday morning to ensure tailgaters are fully aware of the no-drinking policies. "As people walk in, we will be giving them written notice

of the alcohol policy," McGlothian-Taylor said. "We’re just trying to prevent people from getting citations." MSU Police Assistant Director Tony Kleibecker said Munn Field has been booze-free for years, an action prompted by student tailgates getting out of control in the mid-1990s. He said most tailgaters in the area followed the rule until last fall, when police began seeing problems once again. "It really got crazy," Kleibecker said. "There were med-

ical issues, a lot of arrests, so we decided with the university that it was time to make a change in the area. It ended up taking up a lot of police resources." Kleibecker said the department's main priority is making sure students and visitors understand the policy. "We brought a great deal of attention to it last year, and we still see some alcohol," Kleibecker said. "We just want to maintain the original intent." Neuroscience junior Dylan Bergeon said he finds on-campus tailgating more family-oriented and prefers off-campus tailgating with friends. Even so, he said the alcohol-free zone at Munn Field seemed

K atie Stiefel/The State News

See TAILGATE on page 2 u

Search continues for key academic, administration positions on campus By Justine McGuire jmcguire@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn

The search is on for a new provost and two deans at MSU — an uncommon position for the uni-

versity to be in. The searches are projected to end by fall 2014, officials said. The provost search committee hopes to have final candidates visit campus in January, said Mary Mundt, dean of the College of

Nursing and chair of the provost search advisory committee. Finalists for the dean of International Studies and Programs position hopefully will have oncampus interviews in October. The search for the dean of the

College of Engineering isn’t as far along — there is not an advisory committee in place yet, but a new dean hopefully will be in place by fall 2014, said Theodore Curry, associate provost and associate vice president of academic

human resources. “Dean searches are a result of deans going to positions where they have greater leadership,” Acting Provost June Youatt said. It’s fairly normal for the university to search for a couple of

deans at the same time, Youatt said. About six years ago, there was a time when 10 deans positions were filled in two years, she added.

See JOB SEARCH on page 2 u

more inside Blowing smoke

Empty office?

campus+city, Page 3

ASMSU in danger of losing office business manager; in talks with university over position

Hookah bars across E. Lansing remain popular despite 2013 ban put in place by city council Jackson resident James Hendricks State News File Photo

Salon Style Hair stylist builds devoted clientele across years of dedicated service campus +city, Page 5

campus +city, Page 5

Hair stylist Vanessa Dungey Julia Nagy The State News


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.