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ART FOR CHARLIE auction RAISES CANCER FUNDING
Margaux Forster/The State News
A pirate painting done by local artist Tracie Davis sits in storage Friday at Flat, Black & Circular, 541 E Grand River. Local artists and students donated art for the auction.
By Summer Ballentine state news file photo
Then-sophomore forward and midfielder Lisa Vogel lies injured Sept. 30, 2012, during a game against Iowa at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field. Vogel is among some female athletes at MSU who’ve suffered ACL tears in games.
With knee injuries in women’s athletics on the rise, MSU players, experts respond By Derek Blalock dblalock@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn
T
he fall of 2012 wasn’t kind to the MSU women’s soccer team. Three players suffered anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, tears across a stretch of games, an injury becoming increasingly common in women’s athletics. Then-sophomore Lisa Vogel and then-senior Kelsey Kassab each tore an ACL. Kassab tore hers just one game prior to teammate Jessica White’s, while Vogel tore hers in a game against Iowa. In only her third soccer match in a Spartan uniform, White suffered her torn ACL, something female athletes face more than men.In a 2012
game against Cal State Fullerton, the Coto De Caza, Calif., native was running when her knee “slipped” and she heard a “pop” noise. Just like that, her ACL was torn and her freshman year on the field came to an end. “It was such a bummer,” White said. “It’s honestly so hard to watch your team play for so long and not to be on the sidelines not being able to be a part of it, especially your freshman year when you’re new to everything, that’s the year you want to prove yourself.” White would spend every day for the next six months rehabilitating to make it back for the 2013 season. For White, it looked as if her injury was behind her this season. The redshirt freshman was a key contributing factor to the Spartan offense for the first 11 games, scoring three
Looking inside the human knee Femur Patellar Tendon Patella (Knee Cap)
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)
Articular Cartilage Tibia
gr aphic by paige grennan | sn
goals and an assist. However, in MSU’s third Big Ten game against Wisconsin, White tore the cartilage in her knee. It left her sidelined for the last month
a d m i n i s t r at i o n
cbott@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn
Several members of the MSU Board of Trustees are under fire for spending university money after a Detroit TV station report revealed lavish travel and event expenses. ABC affiliate WXYZ reported that in the last year, trustees spent more than $68,000 for attending athletic events and more than $24,000 in attending events at the Wharton Center.
MSU Trustee Joel Ferguson called the report by WXYZ a “cheap shot” Trustee Faylene Owen took a trip with her husband to Germany last year to see the MSU men’s basketball team play Connecticut. That trip alone cost the university $26,319, according to the report. Costs of the trip included limousines, cash stipends and $1,275-a-night hotel accommodations. Contextually, an estimated year’s tuition for an in-state MSU student costs $21,764. A three-credit course at MSU this fall costs an in-state student $1,286.25. That three-credit course cost
See INJURIES on page 2 u
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Two weeks to the day before the annual Art for Charlie auction, t hings took a turn for the worse for the Waller family. Since Charlie Waller, 5, f i r st wa s Waller diagnosed in April 2011 with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma , a rare and inoperable brainstem tumor, his parents have been watching and waiting. Most children die within a year of their diagnosis, but in 2012, Charlie was in school and playing with his friends and sister Esther, like any other 4 year old. About a year ago, he lost control of his right eye. Two months ago, the painful headaches started, and he lost vision in his right eye completely. Charlie didn’t tell his parents — he knows they worry about him. When doctors ask him to rate the pain, he
answers anything from one to 10. When his parents John and Abigail ask, he always says, “Zero.” He felt sick on Halloween morning but insisted his parents take him trick-or-treating, said John, an MSU associate history professor. Two hours later he threw up, and within days, he lost his balance until he no longer could stand or sit up on his own. A week ago, he slept for hours curled up in a swath of blankets on the couch, eased by the morphine and cocktail of eight other medications his parents give him. But even as Charlie struggles to deal with the growing tumor and the cerebrospinal fluids quickly building up inside his head, it never occurred to the Wallers to put the art auction on hold. Last year, they raised nearly $50,000 to donate to Lansing’s Sparrow Hospital and Hospice of Michigan, a free service for terminally ill children that makes nurses available to come to their homes or answer questions around the clock. The first year brought in about $13,000 just for the Waller family.
See ART on page 2 u
Field Hockey
Expenses for board members include plane trips, sports tix By Celeste Bott
of the season. She said two months would be the maximum for her current injury. According to the Amer-
sballentine@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS
“It’s kind of disappointing. Maybe this money could be spent so we don’t have to pay for gym memberships or … transportation.” Cate Hannum, English senior
only is a few dollars more than one night of hotel expenses during the Owens’ 10-day trip. Funds for trustee expenses don’t come from tuition, but from other university investment accounts. When contacted by The State News on Sunday, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Joel Ferguson said the WXYZ article seemed like a “cheap shot,” adding that he had no further comment. Trustee George Perles said he was unfamiliar with the WXYZ report. Board vice chairperson Brian Breslin and trustees Mitch Lyons, Diann Woodard and Dianne Byrum also could not be reached for comment. Trustee Owen said that she believed her trip to Germany was a good investment for the university and provided opportunities for engagement. She said that its benefit for students would ultimately “be worth many multiples of the cost of the trip.” She also said high tuition rates can’t be blamed on trustee spending, but the state’s continued dis-
investment in higher education. “WXYZ said that the motive for its report was tuition rates at MSU and other universities that everyone believes are too high,” Owen said. “High tuition rates are the result of inadequate state appropriations, not an overseas trip to build global relationships, which accounts for about 50 cents per student.” Still, some MSU students believe the money could be better spent elsewhere. English senior Cate Hannum said she wasn’t surprised to hear about the trustees’ spending habits. “I’m originally from the Boston area, and compared to services my friends receive at Boston College or Northeastern, we pay for so much more,” Hannum said. “It’s kind of disappointing. Maybe this money could be spent so we don’t have to pay for gym memberships or campus transportation. Other universities offer those services for free.” Biochemistry and molecular biology junior Alexander Eth-
See SPENDING on page 2 u
Spartans take Big Ten tourney By Omari Sankofa II osankofa@statenews.com THE STATE NEWS nn
A n imper fect reg ular season for the field hockey team ended in triumph. For t he f irst time since 2009 , the No. 3-seeded Spa rtans won the Big Ten ChampiLever onship on Sunday, overcoming a 2-0 halftime deficit to beat No. 5-seeded Iowa, 3-2. Senior midfielder Adelle Lever scored the gamewinner with less than eight minutes left, scoring off a rebound. She had three consecutive attempts missed before her fourth found the back of the net.
Junior forward Abby Barker was named MVP of the tournament after her strong play Head coach Helen Knull had words of praise for Lever, who hasn’t been a major scorer for the team but has been consistently good over the course of the year. “I told her after the game,
this is her moment,” Knull said. “This is what she’s been working for, and I know this will be a memory she will have for the rest of her life.” By winning the Big Ten Championship, MSU earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. This plays into the team’s favor, as an at-large bid would have been unlikely considering the .500 regular season record. “We knew if we didn’t win today, we didn’t have a hope of getting into the tournament,” Knull said. “The girls knew we had to win today to get that bid. They focused on the process, executing (the) game plan and it worked out for us, coming back to win it.” Junior forward Abby Barker was named tournament MVP. Barker scored two goals in the second half to lead the comeback. Barker’s season started with turmoil. The star forward suffered turf burn on her leg during an early-season loss to Stanford . The burn became infected, and ultimately cost Barker four games. Without Barker, who scored a team-leading 18 goals the previous season, MSU struggled with a 3-5 start to the season. Since returning, Barker has been on fire. She had a hat trick against Ohio State during the semifinals on Friday, and followed by spearheading
the comeback against Iowa. “I’m really proud of Abby because having her injured early in the season I know was tough, was tough for her, because she’s a kid that sets goals for herself,” Knull said. “For this entire Big Ten Tournament, she’s been focused, she’s been ready, she wanted to win it for this team. She’s been huge, and for her to get MVP today is fantastic.” Senior goalkeeper Molly Cassidy had two saves. Iowa goalkeeper Kelsey Boyce had three saves. Iowa sophomore for ward Natalie Cafone beat Cassidy by striking the upper-right side of the cage for the first score of the game. Senior forward Kelsey Mitchell scored again for Iowa with under four minutes left in the first half. She received an assist from freshman forward Stephanie Norlander and beat Cassidy to score at the upper-right of the cage. Barker started the comeback effort by striking the ball into the lower right of the net five yards out. Barker continued her strong effort, scoring her second and final goal of the game off a penalty with under 13 minutes left to tie with Iowa, 2-2. Senior midfielder Katherine Jamieson and junior back Jenni Smith assisted on the play.