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MSU faculty, staff members write letter on concerns over the Faculty Senate’s divestment decision

Ninety Michigan State University faculty members have signed an open letter expressing their concerns to the MSU Faculty Senate over its decision last month against the resolution to divest from Israel’s military campaign.

English Associate Professor and Creative Writing Director Divya Victor said she, alongside many other faculty members, was astonished by the senate’s decision. Its reasons for going against divestment were “not sound,” she said, and the decision goes against institutional values around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

“Some faculty members perpetuated the myth that to divest from Israeli weapons manufacturers would be tantamount to forwarding anti-Semitic sentiments on campus,” Victor said. “We think that it is possible to divest from Israeli weapons manufacturers, fossil fuels and various other deeply harm-producing enterprises without having that reflect on our views on anyone’s ethnicity or race or religion.”

In 1978, MSU decided to divest from Apartheid South Africa, according to the open letter. Victor said calling for divestments is part of people’s moral obligations and her roles as a researcher, educator, faculty member and artist are not separate from her role as a global citizen.

MSU to open Pollinator Performance Center

A 15-acre Pollinator Performance Center is soon to come to Michigan State University’s south side of campus. The project was created through a partnership between MSU’s department of Entomology, MSU AgBioResearch and MSU Extension.

The center will serve to be “MSU’s home of pollinator studies, teaching, equipment and storage outreach,” according to the Pollinator Performance Center’s website.

The center is currently finishing construction that would add capacity for winter housing and install a honey extraction system, according to Farm Manager Dan Wyns. These improvements will not only finalize the construction of the center, but also allow MSU to amp up research into pollinators.

He said the bees are kept in artificial hives that are transported from farm to farm in order to pollinate crops. Beekeepers are contracted by farmers to transport and maintain bees while they are pollinating a farmer’s crops.

According to the USDA Forest Service, 80% of crop plants used around the world rely on pollination to reproduce and have noticeably higher crop yields after visits from pollinators. This includes almost all fruit and grain crops across the world.

In recent years, the study and utilization of pollination has been steadily increasing and agricultural fields see an improvement in crop size and yield after the pollination process is completed. At MSU, the study of pollinators has just begun.

Outside of the pollinator center, MSU continues to support pollinator populations through pollinator gardens. These gardens were planned and planted by Sustainable Spartans, a student organization dedicated to educating others about sustainable practices and implementing projects they feel address issues on campus.

MSU club CTRL+A celebrates APIDA Heritage Month with 6th annual spring showcase

Michigan State University’s CTRL+A organization hosted its annual spring showcase event on its 6th anniversary to celebrate the organization this past Sunday.

MSU’s CRTL+A student organization strives to represent the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American community and culture by celebrating diversity through dance performances. While APIDA Heritage Month is observed in the month of May, many MSU organizations choose to celebrate in April, before the end of the academic year.

CTRL+A’s President and biomedical laboratory science and human biology senior Angelina Au-Tran said the name of the organization originates from the computer command control and A, which selects all text on a page.

Au-Tran said that CTRL+A hosts a showcase every semester, but also hosts general member workshops, where members are welcome to stop by, and public workshops.

Similarly, Au-Tran said her favorite part about hosting events like the spring showcase is the ability to show APIDA culture and dance to the community.

Based on original reporting by Ridhima Kodali, Joe Lorenz and Amy Cho.