Today’s weather forecast is predicting cloudy early with partial sunshine expected late with a high of 50 degrees and a low of 32 degrees. For the weekend it looks like sunny skies for tomorrow and rain coming in on Sunday with temps in the low to mid 50s.

MSU competes in “The We Give Blood Drive” to address blood shortage

Abbott, a medical devices and healthcare company based in Illinois, has partnered with blood provider Versiti and the Big Ten to address a national blood shortage.

A blood-donating competition called “The We Give Blood Drive” will give Michigan State and the 17 other Big Ten schools the chance to donate the most and win money towards student and community health.

The event was held at Breslin Center on Wednesday. Many students and staff at MSU showed up to take part and donate blood.

The drive brought in campus celebrities like head men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo and university President Kevin Guskiewicz, who each donated blood for the cause. Two free tickets to MSU’s upcoming football game against Indiana this Saturday were given to everyone that donated.

With the need for blood donations at its peak, the drive encourages students to step up and contribute.

More information on how to donate or to see the current leaderboard, can be found at here.

MSU partners with Bioelements Group to improve sustainable packaging

Michigan State University School of Packaging has partnered with Bioelements Group to improve sustainable packaging.

Bioelements Group, a Chilean-based company founded eight years ago, prioritizes the environment when creating packaging materials. According to its website, Bioelements creates alternative, biodegradable packaging.

Bioelements CEO and founder Ignacio Parada said, “The idea is that all of our products will break down into food for microorganisms and fungi from three to 20 months.”

Ignacio said his company has made several alliances in the past with locations worldwide, including a recent partnership with Clemson University.

He said they entered the company into the U.S. market two years ago and decided to partner with MSU because they needed a “very good alliance with a top university in the states.”

One of the materials undergoing assessment is Bio E-8i film, a plastic-based material with biodegradable components.

They anticipate this research to last six months. This combats the problems with plastic pollution since plastic takes more than 400 years to start the degradation process.

Ignacio said the struggle with plastic pollution is large in the U.S. and is the number one consumer of plastic per capita in the world.

Environmentally, biodegradable materials help in reducing carbon emissions. Changing to biodegradable materials that are produced and converted into plastics causes a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

MSU student groups mobilize Black student voters at campus event

The Black Students’ Alliance, in collaboration with MSU Vote and other student organizations, hosted the “Voices of Power Black Voter Rally” Wednesday to mobilize Black student voters.

The rally was one of several campus events held this week aimed at reaching students. This one, held near the Communications Art and Science Building, provided voter information to Black students and discussed their role in the upcoming election.

Comparatives cultures and politics senior Makayla Bolton, external president of Successful Black Women of MSU, spoke to the crowd about the historical role of voting and the obstacles many Black Americans have faced.

Bolton also reminded students that early voting is still available in the Communication Arts and Sciences Building through Nov. 3.

Human biology junior Brianna Briggs, external president of BSA, encourages people to vote early to avoid standing in line for hours on end.

Social relations and policy senior Tayler Jones, political affairs director for BSA, said her goal leading up to the election is making sure college students in the Black community know how important their role is.

Jones spoke about voter stereotypes, saying most people think Black students’ roles don’t matter or that voting doesn’t matter. This event, Jones said, shows the opposite.

She understands most people in the community don’t vote because they don’t think they will make a difference. She pushes back on this, saying that swing states like Michigan “have such a big impact because of communities like Black people.”

Based on original reporting by Jason Benedek, Anna Rossow and Demonte Thomas.

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

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

Today

• Women’s Tennis will participate in the Spartan Invite today through Sunday at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.
• Volleyball will go against Minnesota at 6 P.M. at the Breslin Center.

Tomorrow

• Football will play Indiana at 3:30 P.M. at Spartan Stadium.

Sunday

Volleyball will go against Ohio State at 12 P.M. at the Breslin Center.

Men’s Soccer will play Northwestern at 1 P.M. at Demartin Stadium.