Today’s weather forecast is predicting areas of patchy fog early in the day and partly cloudy skies with a high of 76 degrees and a low of 59 degrees.
Year-long pollinator garden project hosts grand opening
Two years after founding the Environmental Studies and Sustainability United student group at Michigan State University, the members celebrated a grand opening of their first pollinator garden. Last Thursday, the club gathered to drink lemonade and admire the native species.
Environmental studies and sustainability senior Mel Miles, the natural resources garden coordinator for the project and vice president of ESSU, said the goal of the project was to benefit the campus environment.
Mel said the garden incentivizes visits from native pollinators, some of which are endangered, and helps with water retention. The wood chips suppress weeds and the flowers will be more colorful than previous ones in the area, beautifying the courtyard.
Mel gave an opening speech shouting out the Campus Landscape Stewardship Committee for allowing this project. The Beal Garden and MSU’s infrastructure, planning and facilities are involved in the committee as well.
Carolyn Miller, a member of this committee and the invasive species coordinator for the Beal Garden, said ESSU pitched the idea to them and she knew she wanted to be involved.
Over 300 plants from five different species were planted, each chosen for specific reasons. The five species include: nodding onion, bee balm, beardtongue, butterfly weed and prairie dropseed.
According to Carolyn, large bees like beardtongue, monarchs like butterfly weed, all pollinators love bee balm and the nodding onion’s flowers will droop over the sides of the plant which is “excellent” for the target insects.
Upkeep of the garden is the responsibility of the ESSU, and they plan to add bee hotels and signs to the garden later.
ASMSU demands MSU take accountability, apologize for revelations in Nassar documents
The Associated Students of Michigan State University called on MSU to take accountability following the release of the long-secret Nassar documents at the general assembly meeting last Thursday. The general assembly also elected a new vice president of government affairs and passed bills advocating for a meal swipe donation program and the Stop Campus Hazing Act.
ASMSU addressed the contents of 6,000 documents on the university’s handling of disgraced ex-MSU doctor Larry Nassar, which were released by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel about three weeks ago. The documents revealed that MSU monitored survivors, viewed the scandal as a “war” to be won and edited Title IX reports, among other things.
During their reports, members of the Office of the President condemned university administration for its handling of the Nassar scandal.
ASMSU President Connor Le said he was disgusted and that it was hard to call himself a spartan after hearing how the university treated survivors.
In response to these documents, the GA proposed Bill 61-25. Introduced by Vice President of Internal Administration Kathryn Harding, this bill calls on MSU to release a statement to affirm its support of survivors and hold administration accountable by taking necessary disciplinary action.
The bill passed with a voice majority unanimously.
Moving onto bill 61-23, this supports and advocates for the Stop Campus Hazing Act, which has unanimously passed in the U.S. House of Representatives and will now be heading toward the Senate.
The bill passed with a voice majority.
More specifics on each bill can be found on The State News website.
Celebrating 60 years of the 1964 MSU-UNC game that revolutionized college football
Michigan State football made history in 1964, becoming the first fully integrated football team to play in the south in a September game at the University of North Carolina.
Thursday, Sept. 26 marked the 60th anniversary of the influential game between the Spartans and Tar Heels at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, where UNC football still plays today. UNC won 21-15, but the 1964 Spartans made their mark on history.
MSU was led by head coach Duffy Daugherty, whose MSU teams played a large role in the integration of college football and sports altogether. Daugherty’s rosters were fully integrated, which was unheard of in collegiate athletics at this point. There was an “unwritten quota” that consisted of only having five black players per team.
MSU quickly became a hotspot for Black players to see the field and succeed.
In the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement was fighting for racial equality in the United States. At the time, news media steered away from covering race, so the game was advertised as just another Big Ten school playing in the south.
This game also occurred in the same year that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
Many of the players on the Daugherty’s teams couldn’t have imagined the impact they would have on the landscape of collegiate athletics. College Football Hall of Fame member and former MSU halfback Clinton Jones was one of them. He was the first black player to score in Kenan Stadium.
MSU team went on to win two national championships with its 1965 and 1966 teams.
Based on original reporting by Anna Barnes, Anish Topiwala and Jania Clowers.
