The State – 04/28/22

Rachel Fulton

SaMya Overall is selected as The State News 2022-23 Editor-in-Chief

The State News Board of Directors selected SaMya Overall to serve as Editor-in-Chief of The State News for the 2022-23 term.

Overall will begin during the summer 2022 semester. Overall will be in her senior year during her tenure.

She is studying English with minors in women & gender studies and French.

Most recently, Overall served as the copy chief for the 2021-22 TSN staff. Prior, she held roles as managing editor, features reporter and general assignment reporter.

Outside of TSN, Overall spent one year as a production editorial intern for Macmillian Publishers and currently works as a publishing apprentice for Feminist Press.

As a co-creator of The State News’ annual diversity report, Overall said a continued emphasis on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will be a priority for her staff as Editor-in-Chief. She is also interested in revamping The State News’ social media presence.


MSU baseball secures highest-ranked win since 2014 in upset of No. 12 Notre Dame at Comerica Park

Michigan State’s bats were as cold as the frigid air in Comerica Park for most of the night but a three-run sixth inning coupled with a solid start from sophomore Harrison Cook propelled the Spartans to an upset victory over No. 12 Notre Dame.

It was the highest-ranked opponent MSU has beaten since the 2014 season when they defeated No. 1 Oregon 8-7.

MSU was deadlocked with Notre Dame for the first five innings in what looked like a pitcher’s duel before the bottom of the Spartan lineup broke the game open and produced a three-run sixth inning to pull ahead for good.

“I thought we played extremely well tonight really in all facets,” MSU Baseball Head Coach Jake Boss Jr. said. “We got good pitching. We defended well, we got timely hits when we needed to and really grinded out a couple of at bats in some big spots and made some things happen.”


Red Cedar Organ dedicated to MSU after 8-year-long process

Earlier this month, guest artist Isabelle Demers, the Joyce Bowden Chair in Organ at Baylor University, and a premier interpreter of organ repertoire performed on the newly installed Red Cedar Organ at the campus chapel.

Jonathan Reed, MSU professor of music and associate director of choral programs said he was first contacted about the organ in June 2014.

Dean of the College of Music James Forger first asked Reed to go over and evaluate the organ that was previously in the chapel, a 1952 organ built by a company in the Netherlands known as Pelz.

MSU had been working on another project for Fairchild Auditorium with the people from Létourneau Organs in Canada and asked their people to assess the organ. They agreed with Reed, that the organ was beyond repair.

The eight-year process was mostly due to finding enough funding. Getting the funding and arriving at a plan took up to three years.

Then, the team had to get through all of the scheduled weddings and events that were to be held at the chapel prior to the start of the organ process. The pandemic also halted production and slowed down the process.

It was the dean’s vision, however, that allowed for the university to be so lucky as to receive the organ into its chapel.

The organ gets used a lot for weddings, funerals and memorial services. Those are all a regular part of what the chapel does.

What’s new about the chapel, however, is that The College of Music will oversee the scheduling of events from Sunday afternoon through Thursday by booking recitals and concerts.

A more comprehensive schedule of the available events will come out in the fall and spring.


Based on original reporting by Jayna Bardahl, Jared Ramsey and Selma Cogo. Script by Shakyra Mabone.