Today’s weather forecast is predicting cloudy with snow showers mainly during the morning with a high of 16 degrees and a low of -4 degrees. For the rest of the weekend, it looks like it will be lower 20’s with mostly cloudy skies.
Law enforcement officers and federal agencies refused to participate in a review of Michigan State University’s response to the February mass shooting, according to a draft of the review recently released to The State News through a public records request, which called their decision to do so “unfortunate.”
The draft also stated that members of the Board of Trustees “became involved in the (shooting) beyond their expertise and outside of their appropriate role,” and it included a page-long in-memoriam for those impacted by the shooting.
The draft was presented to the board, Interim President Teresa Woodruff and Vice President for Public Safety and Chief Safety Officer Marlon Lynch, according to university spokesperson Emily Guerrant.
In April, two months after the Feb. 13 mass shooting on campus that killed three students, injured five students and shook the community, MSU employed an outside audit to examine its response to the tragedy and make recommendations for further changes.
The firm that conducted the review, Security Risk and Management Consultants, or SRMC, released its 26-page report to the public in October.
A draft version of the report provided more context. It instead stated officers and agencies “refused to participate.”
Lynch could not confirm that every MSUDPPS officer that was asked to be interviewed agreed to do so since the process was conducted confidentially. He instead pointed to a section of the review that says the firm “received excellent cooperation from every MSU administrator and staff member (investigators) interviewed” as proof of their compliance.
Ingham County Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth said he did not recall being asked to participate.
It’s unclear why the finding was not included in the final version of the review. Lynch said his department was not able to change the findings of the after-action review before it was released.
More information on this story can be found at The State News website.
Students say overcrowded CATA buses make winter travel hard
With a sprawling campus, Michigan State University can sometimes be hard to navigate for students and many turn to transportation methods like bicycles or buses. However, when winter settles in, the high volume of students using MSU’s Capital Area Transportation Authority, or CATA, buses can make traveling a nuisance.
Human resources management freshman Keira Chapman said riding on CATA Bus 31’s route was “uncomfortably crowded.”
Recently, Chapman entered a bus to find all the seats taken and people standing crammed against each other. Riding the bus and being squished up against other students was not an enjoyable experience, she said.
CATA’s Chief Marketing and Public Information Officer Lolo Robinson said in an email that CATA has received 43 documented complaints between Sept. 4 and Dec. 7 relating to overcrowding on buses, driver disposition, poor driving, missing a stop request and early or late departures.
Robinson said CATA is currently investigating reports of “data accuracy concern” with the Transit app and prioritizes rider safety. CATA will continue to work with MSU to accommodate riders, she said.
Chapman said taking the bus is a time where she can relax. It doesn’t require as much “mental energy and focus” compared to walking or driving, which is why she likes it. But when a bus is overcrowded, the comfort is gone.
MSU women’s basketball starting five performed strongly in win over Northwestern
The Michigan State women’s basketball team picked up another win on Wednesday night after defeating Northwestern comfortably with a final score of 91-72. The win over the Wildcats marks the second Big Ten win in a row for the Spartans, and the team’s third Big Ten win out of six on the season.
As the Spartans head into the second half of the season, which is full of Big Ten games, it is starting to become clear that head coach Robyn Fralick has found her starting five: junior guard DeeDee Hagemann, sophomore guard Abbey Kimball, junior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate, graduate guard Moira Joiner and graduate guard Julia Ayrault.
The Spartans have found themselves successful when starting this lineup and got similar results against Northwestern. Four of the five starters scored in double digits, and all five of them combined for 59 of the 91 points scored against Northwestern.
Hagemann finished the night with 10 points. Her eight assists moved her up to 365 total assists on the season and added to her accomplishment of now having nine games this season with five or more assists.
Assists have been a key point to the team this year and Hagemann has been one of the main players dishing the passes out.
Next up, the Spartans will head out to Minneapolis to face off against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday at 3 p.m. The game will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
Based on original reporting by Theo Scheer, Ridhima Kodali and DeShawn Johnson.
Here is the MSU home Athletic line-up for the weekend…
Today
- Men’s Tennis playing Western Michigan at 2 P.M. and Brown at 6 P.M., both at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.
- Wrestling will go up against Rutgers at 6:30 P.M. at Jenison Field House.
- Hockey will play Michigan at 7 P.M. at Munn Ice Arena.
Sunday
- Wrestling will go against Penn State at 1 P.M. at Jenison Field House.
