Today’s weather forecast is predicting mainly cloudy with a high of 46 degrees and a low of 31 degrees. For the rest of the weekend, it looks like it will be mixes of clouds and sun with temps in the mid to higher 50s.

Students call for security cameras, increased MSU safety measures after IM East larcenies

In the fall semester of 2023, 202 cases of larceny, or “property crimes,” have been reported at Michigan State University.

Throughout the months of January, February and March alone, there were seven reported cases of larceny at MSU’s IM East Fitness Center this year, according to MSU Police Department Spokesperson Dana Whyte.

Communications Manager of the MSU Auxiliary Sports Group Ean Montague said IM staff put the safety of students first, and cameras would be a “privacy issue” inside the locker room. They are working with MSU Police and Public Safety to address these incidents, Montague said.

Whyte said MSUPD is not able to disclose camera locations due to safety and security concerns on campus. She noted that MSUPD is working with IM East staff and Student Life and Engagement on how to prevent further larcenies from occurring.

Renaissance Sword Society members revive medieval martial arts at MSU

Although Thursday nights in the second-floor gym of the IM Circle building may look like a scene out of a Shakespeare play, the members of the Renaissance Sword Society need not have a heavy head or crown — just their longswords, some in-depth knowledge of medieval dueling tactics and a bit of padding.

Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) is exactly what it sounds like: the study and practice of the old European martial system, which died out ages ago.

But it’s seen a resurgence in the past decade, including here at MSU, where English senior Han Yoo founded the Renaissance Sword Society last spring.

Yoo began practicing HEMA before he was an MSU student. When he got to MSU, the lack of an existing club on campus was enough motivation for him to start one. Yoo said his initial goal when starting the club was to make new friends, fence with them and ultimately create new fencers that could “shoot off into the world” to start their own clubs and contribute to a larger, growing HEMA scene.

But HEMA is much more than just banging swords together. What may seem like a simple sword-fighting sport actually requires scholarship and interpretation of old texts.

And while it’s certainly possible to become a good HEMA fencer simply by going to a gym and asking instructors questions, Yoo said that what separates the good fencers from the great fencers is the level of understanding of the texts and that person’s ability to apply that knowledge to what they end up practicing in the gym.

And like most hobbies, complexities can come off as somewhat daunting, but Yoo said one of the best parts of the club is the community, which is quite welcoming to newcomers.

MSU student group uses PR project to draw attention to multiculturalism

Michigan State University’s division of the Public Relations Student Society of America, or PRSSA, competed in a public relations case study competition to draw attention to multicultural topics from Feb. 5 to March 25.

The Bateman Case Study Competition, a national event put on yearly by PRSSA, chooses a subject for their chapters to test their skills and generate an effective PR campaign around. This year, the subject of the competition was Culturs magazine.

Culturs is a publication that focuses its attention on stories of intersectional identities– mainly centered on people with multiethnic, multicultural, mixed-race or geographically mobile identities. The organization chose to leave the “e” out of the word Culturs to represent the often hidden diversities within their storytellers and audience.

Writing multicultural stories lends more diverse voices to a narrative, but with it comes the challenge of making these voices heard.

MSU PRSSA showcased the value of Culturs by engaging students in a way that spoke to them. The team engrossed students in conversations during a pop-up cookie giveaway at Brody and even brought in multicultural student organization leaders for a panel discussion.

Based on original reporting by Ridhima Kodali, Jack Williams and Liam Clymer.

To end our last episode of the week, here are a few announcements!

Here is the MSU home Athletic line-up for the weekend…

Baseball (playing Niagara)

• Tonight at 6:05 P.M.
• Tomorrow at 3:35 P.M.
• Sunday at 1:05 P.M. all at McLane Baseball Stadium.

Softball (playing Indiana)

• Today at 5 P.M.
• Tomorrow at 1 P.M.
• Sunday at 1 P.M. all taking place at Secchia Stadium.

Women’s Tennis (Michigan)

• Tomorrow at 4 P.M.

Men’s Tennis

• Purdue tomorrow at 12 P.M.
• Indiana at 12 P.M. on Sunday both at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.