Annual Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta Commemorative Celebration kicks off April 4

The MSU Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion is hosting the annual César Chávez and Dolores Huerta Commemorative Celebration.

The week-long celebration aims to celebrate the lives and legacies of the two Chicano civil rights leaders, and to shed light on the struggles that migrant farm workers are facing today.

The theme for this year’s celebration is “Tu lucha es mi lucha,” which translates to, “Your fight is my fight.”

According to Senior Associate Director at Migrant Student Services, Elias Lopez, who is serving on the event’s planning committee, this theme alludes to the necessity of finding solidarity with migrant farm workers, especially since their struggles are constantly overlooked.

Especially during the pandemic, Lopez added, migrant farm workers played a crucial role in sustaining the U.S. economy and food supply. So April 4-8, there will be an event each day to bring visibility to farm workers.

On Monday, April 4, there will be a kickoff roundtable conversation called “Tu Lucha es MI Lucha: Making Space at the Table.” This event will act as a forum through which the public can converse with the panelists to learn about and discuss the abuses farm workers are subjected to in their work.

The panelists include current farmworkers, people from the United Farm Worker foundation, student scholars from the College Assistance Migrant Scholars Program and faculty.

College drinking: a harmless experience or an escapist habit?

Whether you like it or not, alcohol and drugs play a prominent role in what is perceived as the “college experience”.

Especially at MSU, where most key experiences tend to have an alcoholic aspect to them.

Every weekend, students eagerly withstand hour-long lines to get into the local bars. Football fans litter campus with solo cups and beer cans before each home game.

Professor of rehabilitation counseling Andrew Nay said that colleges provide the conditions to create a subculture that can exacerbate substance habits.

Nay said there are several sources of stress associated with the college environment: unfamiliar surroundings, difficult coursework and trying to mediate anxiety or depression.

Neurologically speaking, these substances can make these stressors feel less detrimental, as they manifest a pleasurable response.

Most students that come to college are leaving an environment in which their guardians watched closely over them. It can feel exhilarating to enter a stage in which there are seemingly no rules or people in charge of them in their free time.

College culture might not be entirely to blame for the immediate immersion of students into activities that involve alcohol.

Nay said there are large parts of our society that don’t recognize the dangerousness of the high consumption of alcohol.

Shruti Pandey said that at the end of the day, most students are looking for a place to belong, but that doesn’t have to mean partaking in substances or partying.

Dwayne Stephens departs MSU, becomes Western Michigan Head Coach

After 19 seasons with the Spartans, Associate Head Coach Dwayne Stephens has accepted a head coaching position at Western Michigan.

Stephens held many responsibilities with the Spartans, including player development, scouting and recruiting.

He has been recognized as one of the top recruiters in the nation, playing a large role in landing highly ranked recruits such as Miles Bridges, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Adreian Payne.

Since Stephens joined the staff, the Spartans have won six Big Ten Championships, four Big Ten Tournament titles and several final fours all while never missing the NCAA tournament.

Based on original reporting by Amalia Medina, Miranda Dunlap and Nick Lundberg. Script by Shakyra Mabone.