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MDHHS announces new firearm storage safety law in Michigan to go in effect

The Michigan Department of Health & Human Services, or MDHHS, announced a new firearm safety law that went into effect in Michigan on Tuesday. The law, Public Act 17 of 2023, requires safe storage of firearms to prevent access to minors.

According to the MDHHS, the act requires Michigan residents to “keep unattended weapons unloaded and locked with a locking device or stored in a locked box or container if it is reasonably known that a minor is likely to be present on the premises.”

If a firearm is not stored properly and a minor obtains the weapon, the individual is guilty of a crime through Public Act 16 of 2023 if the minor presents it in a threatening way, inflicts injury or causes death on themselves or another person. The crime is punishable by ranging from 93 days to 15 years, fees, or both, depending on what occurred.

Approximately 67% of firearm injuries for children occur when the firearm is being played with or shown to others. 76% of these cases occurred when the firearm was kept unlocked, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

These gun safety laws additionally protect families by “closing loopholes in the law and expanding universal background checks to all firearms,” according to the MDHHS.

Healing Through Kindness & Service Event creates reflective, community spaces for Spartans

Students, faculty, staff and community members gathered at the International Center on Michigan State University’s campus and the Hannah Community Center in East Lansing to participate in the Healing Through Kindness and Service Event on Feb. 13.

The event, meant to help the Spartan community heal and process on the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting on MSU’s campus, was organized by Associated Students of Michigan State University, or ASMSU, and the Center for Community Engaged Learning, or CCEL.

At the International Center, rocks were available to paint and keep or place around campus, food was served and Squishmallows were at hand for participants to attach encouraging notes to. The Hannah Community Center had service activities meant to give back to the Greater Lansing community, such as packing school supply kits for children in the Lansing school districts. Reflective spaces, crisis counselors and resource lists were available at both locations.

Also at the event was international relations and political science junior Drew Gardner, who stressed the importance of people feeling connected and having the “space they need to reflect and be with one another” on the anniversary of a day that devastated the community.

‘Funny Girl’ at Wharton Center explores historical story with modern themes

“Funny Girl” ran at Michigan State University’s Wharton Center from Feb. 6 to 11. The show’s touring cast aimed to tell a story that challenges viewer’s perceptions of love and performance.

The recently revived classic told the semi-biographical story of Fanny Brice, an early twentieth-century performer. In the show, Brice is confronted by the beauty standards and romantic expectations of the time as she tries to break into show business.

The musical experienced a Broadway revival in 2022 and was brought further back into the public eye when it picked up “Glee” star Lea Michele to star as Fanny Brice.

MSU theatre professor Laura MacDonald said the story was a complex and important one to tell. While the show is set in the early twentieth century, she said, it is a product of its time.

“Although ‘Funny Girl’ is set in the past, I think it’s reacting to that 1960s historical moment in that it’s literally making space for a transgressive woman: Fanny Brice,” MacDonald said. “Throughout the show, she is letting us know that she’s different, that she doesn’t fit in, that she looks funny, that she is funny, that she breaks the rules.”

MacDonald added that even though the show stars a feminist character, it’s important that said character interacts with constraints of the time period the show is set within. This was essential in depicting Fanny Brice’s life, she said.

Based on original reporting by Anna Rossow, Kendra Gilchrist and Liam Clymer.