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Michigan State University’s independent voice
Two Weeks, Two Evacuations Officials weigh in on evacuation procedures at stadium on MSU gamedays
mgerstein@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn
ddavis@statenews.com and kabdilla@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn
T
here’s a realm of history wrapped up within the concrete walls of Spartan Stadium.
“ “We work with them to make sure they’re aware of impending weather.”
students could see relief with medicaid
By Michael Gerstein
By Dillon Davis and Katie Abdilla
During the course of its 90 years of existence, the venue has played host to exciting plays on the gridiron, melodic tunes out of the mouths of rock stars and the arctic tundra of one of the world’s most famous hockey games. But through all of the moments spread across more than nine decades, the stadium never has been evacuated. A f ter t wo football games in two weeks, Spartan Stadium now ha s a new piece of history, calling for evacu at i o n s i n both games. The threat of severe weather, including t he p ote nfor lightJim Mac- tial ning strikes, zko, caused MSU National p ol ic e a n d Weather campus offiService cials to alert fans to evacuate the stadium during the Aug. 30 home opener against Western Michigan and again prior to the Sept. 7 game against South Florida — a notion which Athletics Director Mark Hollis said was war-
policy
photos by Julia Nagy/The State News
An officer tries to keep order as students start a chant during the weather delay against University of South Florida after a weather delay Saturday at Spartan Stadium. Parts of the student section refused to leave the stadium during the weather.
ranted for both games. “Until you actually get to go through the process of having 70,000 leave their seats and try and find safe quarters, it’s always going to be a challenge,” Hollis said. “There’s things we pick up and learn to improve, and Saturday’s was not, although it worked out very good, it wasn’t a strategy to see if those improvements worked.” According to the National Weather Service, MSU currently is one of five Big Ten schools and 138 national StormReady Universities, which have a partnership with the National Weather Service intended to provide information to universities that allows them to incorporate the information into their emergency plans. “We work with them to make sure they’re aware of impend-
ing weather and they’re aware of multiple means of monitoring that and communicating that,” said Jim Maczko, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids. “That gets incorporated in their emergency plans and that’s on their side of things.” Although MSU police Capt. Penny Fischer said officers annually have prepared for the possibility of evacuation for the past decade, she had yet to see it happen until this fall. “When we evacuate, there is very well a credible threat of harm to people,” Fischer said. “We don’t wait to see the first bolt of lightning to know that it’s not safe. There’s not a lot of room for error.” Fischer said Spartan Stadium was sufficiently evacuated within 20-30 minutes. But once students were asked to evacuate a
Attendees evacuate Spartan Stadium after severe weather caused lightning strikes in the area during the game against Western Michigan on Aug. 30. Fans were asked to leave the stadium, but many retreated to the concourse.
second time at Saturday’s game, police were met with resistance. “The whole student section was chanting, and no one
wanted to leave,” human biology freshman Carrie Blackwell said. See STADIUM on page 2 u
To see a gallery of photos from the two evacuations at Spartan Stadium, visit statenews.com.
acade m ics
For those whose parents don't have health insurance, or who are older than 26, Michigan's controversial Medicaid expansion could be the answer for the uninsured student population after the law takes effect next spring. For college students making less than 133 percent of the federal poverty level — or less than $15,282 a year for a single adult — the Medicaid expansion could mean access to long-awaited health care coverage. "Being a student does not affect your eligibility," said Angela Minicuci, public information officer for the Michigan Department of Community Health, or MDCH. The exact implementation date of the Medicaid expansion, which Gov. Rick Snyder intends to sign into law after returning from a foreign trade mission in Asia, depends on what lawmakers decide in ensuing months. It's also unclear how many students actually would be able to receive Medicaid coverage. The Census Bureau doesn't differentiate between the student and non-student population in its data, and Minicuci said she does not have immediate access to income statistics that also account for age. MSU doesn't keep any information on the socioeconomic status of its students, making it difficult to see how many would be directly impacted. MSU had 9,237 Pell Grant recipients between fall 2012 and summer 2013. These are typically rewarded to lowerincome degree-seekers. It's impossible to tell how many of these students could qualify for Medicaid, but it does give a sense of how many need assistance for the cost of college, See MEDICAID on page 2 u
campus
Economics degree faces Students protest U.S. role in Syria conflict moratorium from univ. By Meg Dedyne
Social relations and policy sophomore Connor Meston uses a bullhorn during a protest demonstration against the vote on the military conflict in Syria Monday behind Bessey Hall.
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By Justine McGuire jmcguire@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn
The Bachelor of Science, or B.S., economics degree is new on the moratoria list this semester — the requirements are being reviewed and possibly revamped. The major went into moratorium this semester and will remain until at least fall 2014, meaning no one will be allowed to enter that major during that time period. Although students no longer can enroll in the B.S. program this year, they still can choose a Bachelor of Arts, or B.A. in economics. Only about 22 percent of economics majors at MSU typically choose the economics B.S. degree, according to officials. The B.S. program requires more math, science and statistics courses, and fewer classes from the colleges of arts and letters, and social sciences compared to the B.A., but all the economics requirements are the same for both majors. All of the differences come from the College of Social
Sciences requirements. Potential changes in the college requirements would make the two degrees the same, said Carey Elder, undergraduate adviser for the Department of Economics. “We want to make sure that if we bring back the B.S., students really have a different degree than the B.A.,” Elder said. “The B.A. requirements won’t get them to graduate school — right now, the B.S. won’t either. If the B.S. comes back, it will be more directed toward getting students into graduate schools.” She added that although the requirements wouldn’t get a student into graduate school, those who are interested can get direction from advisers on which classes to take. “We’ve learned what the students who pick each major want to do and we want to help them get there,” she said. The changes that could happen in the college requirements have not been finalized, but would make the B.A. and B.S. closer See PROGRAMS on page 2 u
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A massive banner hung from the parking ramp next to Bessey Hall yesterday that read, “No War with Syria” and loomed over a small group of students protesting on the lawn. Duncan Tarr, a jazz studies and history sophomore, said the group of students was protesting because of the potential vote by Congress to send military action into Syria.
Group members were against U.S. military intervention in the conflict Syria, which has drawn national gov’t attention The latest update from Agence France-Presse on the issue said that the U.S. is welcoming a move by Syria to give up chemical weapons, as suggested by Russia. “We think a violent inter-
Danyelle Morrow/The State News
vention in Syria is wrong," Tarr said. “The United States hasn’t pursued diplomatic means, and jumping into a military solution is an awful risk." Still, some hope their protests were not needed. “If Sy ria agrees to give up chemical weapons, then there will be no need to strike because there will be nothing needed to deter Assad’s regime
from using chemical weapons," international relations senior Anas Attal said. Andrew Gibson, a political theory and constitutional democracy sophomore and one of the leaders in the protest, said the group’s main focus is much larger than informing people just about Syria. “We are worried about the wider ramifications involving
not only Syria, but Russia and China as well," Gibson said. Students from all different grades and majors joined in the protest, which was organized a few days prior to the event, history education senior Noah Saperstein said. “We are protesting mainly to raise awareness. If we
See PROTEST on page 2 u