Today’s weather forecast is predicting cloudy and windy periods of rain in the afternoon with possible thunder and a high of 60 degrees and a low of 34 degrees.
For the first time in school history, the Michigan State University intercollegiate figure skating team qualified for the National Intercollegiate Finals. The competition will take place in April at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, New York.
President of the team and kinesiology senior Jamie Turnbull said making it to the finals meant a lot to her and the team.
The result came as a surprise for the team because they originally thought that it wasn’t in the cards for them, she said.
Every season, there are three competitions and points are given to the teams that place in the top five of each competition. The top teams with the most points gained at the end of the season make it to nationals.
And what was once unexpected became a reality after they placed fourth and third in their next competitions, gaining enough points to allow them to qualify for the national final.
The qualification for nationals was a product of this positive environment and also a season of hard work despite some difficult obstacles, such as limited rink time and being a fully self-funded team.
The team only gets rink time at Munn Ice Arena, the on-campus ice rink, once a week for team practices on Sundays. This means that members have to organize carpools and maneuver around class schedules in order to find time to skate at off-campus rinks.
Ex-board chair Vassar rebukes investigation’s findings of misconduct
Michigan State University’s embattled former board chair, Rema Vassar, has released a lengthy response to an independent investigation that spurred her resignation as chair, arguing the findings of widespread misconduct are poorly supported and that the investigators were biased.
Vassar’s argument — which was made in a 22-page report authored by her attorneys — says the investigation was conducted without due process for her and the subsequent report lacked “essential” information. The report criticizes the firm, Miller & Chevalier, saying the recommendations made based on its work are “unsupported and profoundly flawed.”
Vassar has publicly challenged the veracity of the firm’s report since it was released in late February. She alleged the findings — that she and fellow trustee Dennis Denno violated conflict of interest policies, interfered in university affairs and orchestrated attacks on colleagues, among other things — were racially motivated against her, as the first Black woman to chair MSU’s board.
This new formal response, however, is her most specific and detailed rebuttal to date, going through each of the firm’s findings and attempting to discredit them.
Since the investigation was released, Vassar was censured by the rest of the board, stripped of all official duties and referred to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for removal from office.
In a vote last week, MSU’s academic congress moved 1,512 to 55 to urge Whitmer to remove her. The governor’s office has said Whitmer is monitoring the situation but has yet to reach a decision.
Vassar argues in her rebuttal the investigation was biased from the start, as the firm was hired by MSU’s administration to investigate the allegations against her.
Vassar then criticizes the firm for not releasing the interview transcripts, documents and audio recordings its investigation relied on. She argues she was often taken out of context or portrayed unfairly in the firm’s summaries of the over 15 hours of interviews she sat for with investigators.
Based on original reporting by Hannah Locke, Alex Walters, Owen McCarthy and Theo Scheer.
