Welcome to the last episode of the semester! Today’s weather forecast is predicting cloudy with some snow showers coming in the afternoon with a high of 38 degrees and a low of 29 degrees. For the weekend, it looks like it will be high 30’s with cloudy skies all weekend.

EL Independent Police Oversight Commission faces low turnout, unable to pass motion

Of the 11 commissioners serving on the East Lansing Independent Police Oversight Commission, five were in attendance for the commission’s monthly meeting this past Wednesday.

There must be a minimum of six members in attendance for the meeting to have quorum – or to make the meeting’s proceedings valid.

Vice-chair Chris Root said the low turn-out was unusual and abnormal, with only three commissioners informing her of their absence before the meeting.

Due to the lack of attendance, a use of force motion related to an illegal search and seizure conducted by ELPD officers in late May was not discussed or passed.

The subject of the search was told by officers he needed to stay until paramedics checked him out, also violating ELPD policy regarding “persons refusing EMS care.”

However, parts of the complaint investigation, including the subject’s name, were redacted.

The Oversight Commission is not privy to certain statements made by officers investigated due to a collective bargaining agreement between the police union and management. This means an officer can elect to not have their statements included in investigation documents.

The motion, unable to be rejected or passed at the meeting due to lack of attendance, would have recommended an external, outside-agency review to determine whether the incident described in the complaint was a reportable use of force.

The commission will meet again on Jan. 4 at the Hannah Community Center.

Have a food-based startup idea? MSU has a kitchen for that

At MSU, student-created food startups have found their place in the Venture Kitchen, a fully licensed professional kitchen space on the second floor of the Union.

The kitchen, officially launched this summer, is an extension of the Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Discovery Program and is free to use for food-based entrepreneurs within the program.

Marketing junior and founder of OG’s Bakery Olivia Gargett spends nearly every week in the kitchen fulfilling orders for her homemade treats.

“The Venture Kitchen space has been amazing for me,” Gargett said. “The cost of rent for that kind of thing can be very expensive, so it’s just been a great space for me to be able to fulfill my orders while I’m at school and also keep growing.”

“I entered the Burgess New Venture Challenge pitch competition just for fun, to meet people because I was a COVID freshman, so I hadn’t really met anyone else,” Gargett said.

Gargett ended up winning first place in the competition and received funds to support the growth of her business. Those funds help her purchase bulk supplies, rent vendor spaces at farmers’ markets and are now going towards renting an incubator kitchen space in her hometown of Grand Rapids.

Marketing senior and founder of portable soup company, Soup N’ Sip, Olivia Simone said the support she has received in the development of her company inspired her to reciprocate that support as a venture capitalist post-graduation.

Simone founded the company last year after winning a pitch competition. She said she uses the Venture Kitchen when her home kitchen is too small.

Simone said, “It’s very much a long-haul decision and a lot of money. … The Burgess Institute has given me so much funding so I could do it, I’m just trying to see if that’s where my next steps lie since I am graduating and looking for a full-time job.”

Gargett, on the other hand, said she plans to run OG’s Bakery full-time after college and is confident that MSU will continue to support the growth of her company beyond the Venture Kitchen space.

MSU students discuss ways to stay motivated during the ‘holiday slump’

As the seasons change and the holidays approach, it becomes increasingly hard for many students to stay engaged.

For students like human biology junior Ellen Kim, the shorter days of colder months come with less motivation.

Kim said it is especially hard to keep her spirits up with her upcoming final exams. Even after having a break over Thanksgiving, she has noticed a constant feeling of stress.

International relations sophomore Rory McMahon said the university’s approaching holiday break, which begins on Dec. 17, can exacerbate anxiety and depression.

McMahon said that this time of year is always the most stressful, and she finds herself scrambling to finish work.

Computer science sophomore Jennifer Lee said she increases her social interaction to cope with the mental slump.

Kim said she holds herself to a higher standard of time management as the end of the year is close by.

McMahon also advises other students to explore different corners of campus and try to enjoy various environments every day.

Based on original reporting by Wajeeha Kamal, Kayal Nelsen and Dipika Rao.

To end our last episode of the semester, here are a few announcements!

Here is the MSU Athletic line-up for the weekend…

Tonight

• Hockey will go up against Michigan at 6:30 P.M. at Munn Ice Arena.

Tomorrow

• MSU basketball will vs. Brown at 4:30 P.M. at the Breslin Center.

For our last announcement, this will be the last week of The State for the semester until we come back from winter break. In that case, thank you all so much who have been listening all semester long and hopefully everyone has a safe and healthy break and happy holidays!