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MSU leadership to prioritize student safety, mental health this school year
With the start of the semester last week, Interim President Teresa Woodruff assured students and families that the university is committed to ensuring student safety and emotional well-being.
This has been a key focus for the university since Feb. 13, the day a gunman killed three students and injured five others on campus. Over the past few months, the university has been working on hardening infrastructure and understanding safety measures, Woodruff said. The changes include violence training videos, installing locks on classroom doors and adding more security cameras to campus.
There are approximately 16,000 students living on campus this year and 11,000 new students — 9,000 of which are part of the incoming freshman class. In accordance with a policy implemented after the shooting, all students will have to use their MSU ID to enter campus buildings between 6 p.m. and 7:30 a.m.
In addition to campus infrastructure, Woodruff and Senior Vice President for Student Life & Engagement Vennie Gore encouraged students to get the SafeMSU app. The app’s features include alerts, emergency calls and virtual friends to assist students walking alone at night.
For further assistance in emergency situations, members of the MSU community will now be required to complete active violence and intruder training online. Like the existing courses on Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the course will consist of informational modules, MSU deputy spokesperson Dan Olsen said.
Student emotional well-being is also a priority for the university, Woodruff said. She said by talking to students, she has learned that not only are people at different stages of healing, but that people are experiencing completely different types of healing. For example, new students and returning students have different experiences with the shooting. Because of this, Woodruff said the university is trying to accommodate differing needs.
MSU Board approves amendment allowing game-day alcohol sales
Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees amended a campus ordinance to allow for newly-legal stadium alcohol sales during games.
The university will be now able to apply for licenses with the state’s Liquor Control Commission.
The amendment broadly allows sales at all of MSU’s major sports facilities, but specifically prompts the administration to pursue licenses for this fall’s home football games against Washington on Sept. 16, Maryland on Sept. 23, the University of Michigan on Oct. 21 and Nebraska on Nov. 4. Sales at those games would begin 60 minutes before kickoff and end 10 minutes of playing time after halftime.
The amendment passed unanimously and with no discussion from the board.
While the amendment only specifically addresses sales during football games at Spartan Stadium, a university press release says future venues could include the Breslin Students Events Center, Munn Ice Arena and Old College Field.
MSU officials publicly supported the law through much of the legislative process, telling legislators that it would help the university compete with the stadium experiences at 11 other Big Ten universities in states where legislation has previously allowed the sale of alcohol at games.
Many of those institutions experienced major drops in game-day arrests and alcohol-related incidents after they began legally selling alcohol in their stadiums, interim MSU president Teresa Woodruff said.
The university also announced a new game-day alert system to keep stadium-goers informed of safety information and delays. Anyone can sign up by texting SPARTANFB23 to 888777.
Mel Tucker reviews negatives and positives from first game of the season
Michigan State football recorded their first win of 2023 last Friday against Central Michigan, using a 21-0 second-half run to take a 31-7 victory heading into week two. While there were plenty of positives to take away, head coach Mel Tucker also noted that there is a lot of room for improvement in his weekly press conference.
“Things like tackling you’ll see that usually improves,” Tucker said. “We don’t have any preseason games, so a lot of tackling is kind of shaky and it was for us in the first half. We got better as the game went on. You see a lot of dropped passes in college football in week one and that usually improves. Things like communication issues and substitution patterns–that’s the type of improvement we want to see.”
One of the main issues the Spartans had on Friday night was with penalties. MSU committed five fouls, giving up a total of 55 yards, with two 15-yard facemask flags coming on Central’s only scoring drive of the game. Tucker said that while there is a difference between foolish and aggressive penalties, practicing technique can help limit the amount of mistakes that can end up costing the team a win.
“I really liked, in terms of things maybe people don’t see, our attitude,” Tucker said. “Our poise, confidence and patience was great. I told my guys this is gonna be tough sledding, stick with the process. That was the attitude of our players and coaches the entire game. I felt really good at halftime. Once the guys kind of got the jitters out, we started to play better in all three phases. That showed a level of maturity and togetherness.”
Based on original reporting by Amalia Medina, Alex Walters and Nick Lundberg.
