Today’s weather forecast is predicting back to a nicer day with some cloudiness but mostly sunny with a high of 81 degrees and a low of 48 degrees.

ASMSU presidential candidate receives backlash from Jewish Student Union member

In light of the presidential elections for the Associated Students of MSU, there has been much contention surrounding candidate pre-med junior Zaaki Mandwee.

This comes after Mandwee attempted to reintroduce a bill that condemned human rights violations being committed against the people of Palestine by the Israeli Defense forces.

Jewish Student Union ASMSU representative Matthew Zivian said this bill would have put many Jewish students at risk.

Zivian said that a bill mentioning colonization, apartheid or genocide is directly harmful to the legitimacy of Jewish history, because using such words imply that Jewish people are not indigenous to that land.

However, Mandwee noted the bill was one ASMSU had passed before.

Flyers were distributed on campus accusing Mandwee of feeding into harmful attacks on MSU’s Jewish community.

In a written public comment to ASMSU, political theory and constitutional democracy senior Nathan Bryson said Mandwee “has repeatedly displayed antisemitic beliefs and thus … does not represent all MSU students.” Veterinary medicine senior Megan Jones similarly called for “solid, respectful and honest leadership.”

Mandwee said as a representative, he was treated with hostility. He said ASMSU should have investigated the flyers and determined who was responsible to ensure a fair race.

Zivian said prioritizing the safety of Jewish students is immensely important and, to him, reflects very heavily on what he thinks of presidential candidates.

Payton Thorne, Noah Kim headline quarterback competition during final spring practice

Two years ago, redshirt senior quarterback Payton Thorne broke MSU football’s single-season passing touchdown record. Last season was a bit different, as poor play from him and the rest of his offense resulted in some calling for redshirt junior quarterback Noah Kim to take his place.

While head coach Mel Tucker has said that this offseason has been and will continue to be a fight between the two, Thorne and Kim were the ones leading their respective units. Thorne played with the starters and Kim with the second stringers during the final practice of the spring football season.

In the practice, Thorne and Kim were head and shoulders above the rest of the quarterback room, with Thorne having a solid all-around afternoon and Kim making some of the best passes of the scrimmages.

While Kim had a great finish to his day, Thorne got it done both through the air and on the ground throughout the entire afternoon. His most notable drive featured a pass that hit fellow redshirt senior and wide receiver Tre Mosley square in the chest, which allowed him to make a move down the sideline and pick up more than enough yards for a first down. Later, around the 15-yard line, Thorne used his legs to step up in the pocket and then scramble to make a couple defenders miss before reaching the end zone just before time ran out.

Tucker reaffirmed after the practice was over that the quarterback battle will not be resolved anytime soon, and will continue to play out over the summer and fall camp.

With spring football now over with, players will begin their summer workouts before returning to campus in a few months for a new semester and fall practice.

Stoopfest is returning to Lansing. Here’s what to know.

The Stoopfest music festival is returning to Lansing for its sixth year, featuring over 100 artists from various genres, such as folk, ska, hip hop and comedy. The festival will take place on April 20 and 21 in various locations across Lansing’s Eastside neighborhood.

Performances will take place in an eclectic combination of parks, backyards, garages and bars that are within walking distance from each other — a tradition that Stoopfest has maintained since it first began.

Tickets are available to purchase online and also at The Record Lounge in Lansing. One hundred percent of the proceeds are given to the artists that perform throughout the weekend.

The festival’s headliners include JER, Quelle Chris and Vial.

Friday concerts will take place at just three venues with staggered start times. The first concert to kick off the weekend will begin at 6 p.m. at Hunter Park’s Sunset Stage in Lansing. Performances will began at 6:30 p.m. at Theio’s Memorial Stage in Hunter Park. Performances will began at The Avenue — located at 2021 E Michigan Ave — will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Based on original reporting by Dipika Rao, Nick Lundberg and PJ Pfeiffer.