stat ene ws.co m | T he Stat e N ews | Mon day, Sept em b er 9, 2013 |
Campus+city crime
campus Editor Robert Bondy, campus@statenews.com CITY EDITOR Lauren Gibbons, city@statenews.com Phone (517) 432-3070 Fax (517) 432-3075
anniversary
String of moped thefts puzzle MSU police By Katie Abdilla kabdilla@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn
MSU police are investigating a string of on-campus moped thefts they believe were orchestrated by minors from Lansing. MSU police Detective Lorrie Bates said between 10 and 15 student-owned mopeds were stolen from campus during Welcome Week. The thefts initially began in April, when about 20 mopeds were stolen within the three-week period before the spring 2013 semester ended. "They found a way to disable the moped and kickstart it without a key," Bates said. Investigators suspect the mopeds mostly were taken by juveniles in Lansing, who they believe entered campus from Kalamazoo Street and made
off with the stolen goods. MSU student involvement is not suspected. Detectives pinpointed a location in Lansing where many of the mopeds were recovered, Bates said. She noted the mopeds' original registrations were missing and appeared to be under repair. Other mopeds were recovered in Lansing after police stopped several juveniles riding the stolen devices in the city. Police are returning the stolen mopeds to their original owners as they are recovered. MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said the main issue comes from students not locking up their mopeds properly or at all. "They’re all crimes of opportunity," McGlothian-Taylor said. She said the thefts went unno-
ticed because the perpetrators likely were young and blended in with students. Even when students do lock up, Bates said some have not been taking proper precautions, such as locking the front tire of the moped with a U-lock. "No one’s locking with a U-lock," she said. "You can’t just assume it’s safe by locking the handle bars, because … they’ve found a way to get around it." Supply chain management freshman Ben Grider said he also has trouble with mistreatment of his moped. "I don't worry too much about it being stolen," Grider said. “I'm more worried about people flipping it over. They tend to do that around here, breaking the mirrors and blinkers." The thefts remain under investigation.
Lansing resident and printmaking artist Kimberly Lavon adds to the community weaving piece Sunday at Grove Gallery & Studios, 325A Grove St. Margaux Forster/ The State News
Community art gallery celebrates five years of growth and change By Meg Dedyne mdedyne@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS
Community
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E.L. Library welcomes international students By April Jones ajones@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn
Libraries are known for the abundance of resources they provide to the community, whether it's in the form of books, computer access or expert advice. On Sunday, the East Lansing Public Library, hosted its fourth annual East Lansing Welcomes the World event, informing and feeding MSU international students as an act of welcoming them to their new community. Library Director Kristin Shelley said the event is a way for international students to get off campus and realize there's an entire city here at their fingertips. "It's a time for the community to get to know the international students and a time for the international students to get to know all the wonderful things that are in East Lansing," Shelley said. Midway through the event, a brief program featured welcoming remarks by MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon, East Lansing Mayor Diane Goddeeris, a representative from the MSU Office of International Students and Scholars and an explanation of future events and programs that will take place this upcoming fall. "I learned from those speeches that there's a lot of conversation events every Wednesday," graduate student Hugo Huang said. "You can come by and have conversations with people to prac-
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Khoa Nguyen/ The State News
MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon addresses the crowd at the International Welcome event Sunday at the East Lansing Public Library.
tice talking in English. Practice makes perfect." Along with city officials, the East Lansing Police Department and Parking and Code Enforcement, or PACE, came to further explain driving violations, how to handle criminal issues and to inform students that they are always available to help out and answer any questions. Huang, who was concerned about his parking for the event, was able to confirm he was parking in a safe zone and avoided
getting a ticket with a PACE officer. East Lansing police Capt. Jeff Murphy said attending the event is a part of being open, and the police department understands that in different countries the police are sometimes viewed as adversaries. The ELPD wanted to show the new students that it's not that way in East Lansing. "This is a big step in opening up communication,” Murphy said. “It will help us help them make everything a little better.”
A homegrown art gallery nestled in downtown East Lansing celebrated five years of survival and growth Sunday with food, community art projects and camaraderie. Several community members came to join a Celebrating Survival event at Grove Galler y & Studios, 325A Grove St. The event included group participation in a weaving using mixed materials, seeing the upgraded space and enjoying a versatile mix of the 12 members’ latest works. Gretel Rutledge, one of the six founding members of the gallery, said the event was meant to showcase the growth of the group since its inception. “We are just professionalizing more and more. Each year we have grown, expanded and increased
our membership,” Rutledge said. “We are getting more well-known in the community and thriving, which is great, especially through these rough financial times.” People who visit the gallery can observe and purchase hand made soaps, paintings, jewelry, weaving and hand-painted fabric. Deb Cholewicki, the gallery's manager, said what makes the studio so interesting is that it’s one of the few galleries that allows people from the community to come in and see the different stages of their work. “We are not a typical, traditional gallery, and we love that," Cholewicki said. "It’s relaxed and comfy, and members of the community actually get to speak with the artists. We are very organic and there’s a great energy here. And people pick up on that.” T he business' new logo, designed by Stephen Kachmar, was showcased on its updated signage. The logo, along with their tagline “Art in Progress,"
speaks not just to the Grove Street location, but also to the working studios and the collaboration among the artists, who work cooperatively to meet gallery needs and continually inspire each other, members said. “I think artists are ver y adaptive creatures by nature because they are extremely self-driven and optimistic,” said Barbara Hranilovich, who has been a member of the gallery since January. “We want this place to work, so we make it work.” East Lansing Councilmember Kathleen Boyle attended the event and said her favorite piece was “Nightfall” by Boisali Biswas, a guest artist at the gallery. She said she was excited to support artwork created locally. "I'm an artist appreciator," Boyle said. "I really wanted to come to the celebration." The gallery's normal hours are noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
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Need More Information? call: 517-353-2596
email: health4u@msu.edu. | http://health4u.msu.edu/ Michigan State University / University Physician’s Office / Health4U Program