Today’s weather forecast is predicting snow during the morning which will give way to a mixture of rain and snow during the afternoon with a high of 34 degrees and a low of 33 degrees.
Day of service, remembrance gathering planned for one-year anniversary of MSU shooting
As the one-year anniversary of the Feb. 13 shooting on MSU’s campus approaches, the university announced plans regarding remembrance events that will take place on the anniversary.
In a campus-wide email sent out last Friday, Interim President Teresa Woodruff said planning underway, led by committees including students, staff and faculty, will aim to “provide spaces and time for individualized reactions and experiences.” Participation at any of the remembrance events, she added, will be entirely optional.
The email states that most courses will not be held on Feb. 13 of this year, although the university will remain open including dining halls, the MSU library and other services meant to “support students and our community.”
Plans for the anniversary include a day of service organized by the Associated Students of MSU in collaboration with the Center for Community Engaged Learning, an evening gathering to be held near the Spartan Statue north of Demonstration Hall and additional “reflective spaces” that will be set up across campus with counseling services available at each location.
There will be counseling staff available at each planned event, though Woodruff noted that the university will be using outside counselors “to ensure MSU staff can spend this day as they choose.”
The email also states that the memorial bench, donated last April by ASMSU, will be installed on a small plaza near Berkey Hall along with other landscaping before spring graduation.
Further details about the events and how to provide input for memorial plans will be shared soon, according to the email.
Freezing temperatures see pond hockey return to MSU campus
The setup is less than ideal. Moving bins taken from Brody neighborhood serve as nets; the ice is maintained by a single borrowed shovel; teams are decided at random and their games often don’t keep score. But to the MSU students who brave the cold to play pond hockey, they might as well be playing at Munn Ice Arena.
For the past two weeks, as MSU’s campus has been strained by sub-freezing temperatures and a winter storm, hockey players and figure skaters alike have taken advantage of the natural ice sheet tucked behind Armstrong and Bryan Halls.
Many of the skaters, including statistics sophomore Jake Pelton, arrived at the pond with friends and joined ongoing games, making acquaintances with other skaters along the way. Pelton added that although conditions weren’t excellent, people were still finding ways to enjoy themselves.
Compared to its organized counterpart, pond hockey is a more chaotic, free-flowing form of the sport that emphasizes quick hands, creative playmaking and just the right amount of trash-talk. Snow build-up and a rough ice texture mean pucks consistently take odd jumps that add to the challenge of playing.
With temperatures expected to rise above freezing this week, it’s unlikely the Brody pond will remain frozen for much longer.
East Lansing Human Rights Commission holds forum to discuss homelessness in East Lansing
The East Lansing Human Rights Commission met with community members this past weekend to discuss how Lansing can better support the unhoused population in East Lansing. The meeting was one of the commission’s regularly hosted Coffee & Conversation sessions.
The goal of the Coffee & Conversation series is to provide a forum for community discussion on important issues of diversity and inclusion in East Lansing.
Commissioner Rebecca Kasen opened the conversation by sharing the story of a woman she worked with through her role as executive director of the Women’s Center of Greater Lansing. Although Kasen was able to secure a housing voucher for her client, she was unable to find a single apartment in East Lansing that would accept the voucher.
The lack of affordable housing and homeless shelters in East Lansing was one of the main concerns discussed in the meeting. The group also discussed the stigma surrounding homelessness and the lack of resources available to unhoused individuals.
Kasen said it is vital that community members realize there is a homeless population in East Lansing and that it is not solely a Lansing problem.
Although no specific solutions were finalized at the meeting, Kasen said that generating conversation around the issue is important in gathering support and creating change.
Based on original reporting by Emilio Perez Ibarguen and Vivian Barrett.
