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Meet the candidates: Sam Singh on public service and MSU’s relationship to its community

In the years since he graduated from Michigan State University, Sam Singh has been a city councilor, mayor of East Lansing, nonprofit worker, state representative and small business owner.

Now, he’s hoping to be a state senator in Michigan’s newly-redrawn 28th district.

Singh, a lifelong Michigander and the son of Indian immigrants, has found meaning in a career in public service – a passion which he developed during his time at MSU. He said that being involved in service organizations and learning about government as a college student set him on the path to where he is today.

He said that the ideals of his early life still inform the way he operates in his career today.

“My parents had always taught that we need to give back to our community, we need to be involved and engaged,” Singh said.

One of the ways of giving back that Singh envisions has everything to do with his alma mater. His priorities are making sure that MSU is connected to the community it inhabits in a way that serves them both.

If elected to the state senate, Singh said that he’ll work to strengthen the economic relationship between the university and the greater Lansing area.

He said that utilizing higher education, in whatever form it takes, will be crucial in helping Michigan continue to recover from the post-pandemic economic downturn.

And he thinks his experience will be useful in the State Capitol; between time in elected office and in the private sector, Singh said that he feels he’s developed a skill set to handle these issues.

Motor vehicle theft the highest on-campus crime in 2021, report says

The Michigan State University 2022 Security and Fire Safety Report shows how various reported crime rates changed in the first in-person year back on-campus.

The annual report, which is required by the federal Clery Act, aims to provide transparency in crime statistics across U.S. college campuses. The report focuses on 14 crimes along with liquor, drug and weapons arrests and disciplinary referrals.

According to MSU Police and Public Safety Communications Manager Dana Whyte, crimes included in the report must meet the Clery crime definition, occur within Clery geography and be reported to campus security or a local law enforcement agency.

Crimes do not have to be proven to be included in the report. If a full investigation finds the crime to be false, it will be considered unfounded. The number of unfounded crimes can also be found in the report, Whyte said.

Compared to 2020, a majority of crimes have higher reported numbers. Whyte said this can be attributed to the fact that far more people lived on campus in 2021 compared to the year before.

Motor vehicle theft was the highest reported on-campus crime in 2021 with 31 reported cases. Burglary and rape are second highest, each with 19 reported incidents.

Reported on-campus rapes in 2019 and 2020 are asterisked to note that many of the reported incidents were due to the crimes of Larry Nassar. However, all 19 reported rapes, along with the four reported cases of fondling in 2021, were unrelated to Nassar. Of the 19 on-campus reports, 18 occurred in campus residential facilities.

The report also covers robbery, aggravated assault and arson.

Visit The State News website to read the full 2022 report as well as finding the definitions for each crime.

Support systems available at MSU during Domestic Violence Awareness month

Michigan State University’s Center for Survivors is partnering with MSU Safe Place to host a series of Domestic Violence Awareness Month workshops throughout October in support of National Domestic Violence Awareness month, spanning from lessons on how to support survivors to learning cyber safety and other preventative measures.

The first of these events took place on Oct. 3 and focused on supporting survivors of relationship violence.

In a survey conducted across Michigan State University by the university’s Office for Civil Rights in 2019, nearly two-thirds of undergraduate women at MSU experienced sexual harassment in the 2018-2019 academic school year.

Participants of the survey were asked how to improve MSU’s training and prevention efforts against sexual misconduct; “many participants noted that a more interactive, in-person approach was needed,” the report reads, notably a suggestion for “ensuring that all faculty and staff receive the training” would improve awareness and prevention for sexual and domestic violence.

The MSU Safe Place is an advocacy program that provides safety services, counseling and more to survivors of domestic violence and anyone else seeking related assistance.

The full-time staff of six largely relies on volunteers and interns and Erica Schmittdiel, an Advocacy Coordinator at the Safe Place program said it is happy to partner with the Center for Survivors this month to reach even more people.

The plan’s dashboard features descriptive plans on each initiative along with the status of each action, providing the community with insight into MSU’s plan.

“Everybody needs help at some point in their lives,” Schmittdiel said. “If you’re struggling with even knowing if your relationship is abusive or not, we will absolutely have that conversation.”

Based on original reporting by Alex Harding, Vivian Barrett and Lily Guiney.