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ASMSU signs on to Intercollegiate Pell Grant Op-ed, supports first-gen student center
The Associated Students of Michigan State University held their general assembly meeting Thursday night, where Interim Provost Thomas Jeitschko gave a presentation on student success initiatives and representatives passed bills advocating for a new construction project and later library hours.
Thomas opened the meeting with a brief presentation that first updated the general assembly on progress regarding the potential consolidation of the Residential College of Arts and Humanities and the College of Arts and Letters. He said a committee has formed with faculty and staff from both colleges participating.
He then moved toward a few student success initiatives his office has been working on. He first discussed the university’s participation in the Sixty by 30 program, which aims to have 60% of adults in the state of Michigan possess a skill certificate or college degree by 2030.
Thomas also outlined the Native American student tuition advantage program. The program allows for any students located out of state and in Canada, who meet tribal affiliation criteria, to attend MSU at an in-state tuition level.
Another project in its early stages that Thomas announced was a first-generation center for students. This will be a physical location where students will be able to access programs and resources that support first-generation students.
Looking at the Intercollegiate Pell Grant op-ed, bill 61-38, introduced by Vice President of Internal Affairs Kathryn Harding, would allow ASMSU to sign on to the Intercollegiate Pell Grant Op-Ed. Kathryn said this is an initiative across universities to express support to Congress to double the Pell Grant.
Next, bill 61-39 was introduced, which would advocate for the construction of a first-generation student center to begin during the 2025-26 school year.
The bill, if passed, would enable ASMSU to write a statement endorsing President Kevin Guskiewicz’s decision to construct a first-gen center, which was announced during his investiture address.
Finally, Broad Business College Rep. Christian Allmand introduced bill 61-41, which advocates to keep the Gast Business Library open for 24 hours both during finals week and the week before.
He said the bill would allow for students to take advantage of this quiet space, which closes relatively early compared to the MSU Library.
All of these bills passed with voice majority.
Mike Yankowski sworn in as new MSU chief of police, executive director of public safety
Michigan State University swore in its new Chief of Police and Executive Director of Public Safety, Mike Yankowski, Thursday afternoon.
Mike was previously the associate director of ethics and compliance in MSU’s Office of Audit, Risk and Compliance for five years.
Prior to his time at MSU, he had a 25-year career with the Lansing Police Department, which included six years as the chief of police.
He was publicly appointed to the position by President Kevin Guskiewicz on Oct. 11, who announced Mike would be assuming the now re-consolidated roles of chief safety officer and chief of police, which were separated in spring 2023.
This new appointment comes amidst broad leadership restructuring by Kevin Guskiewicz and after former Vice President and Chief Safety Officer Marlon Lynch resigned last spring. Chris Rozman has been serving as interim in the time since.
There was an emphasis on building a relationship with the community during the ceremony. The department plans to do an overall assessment of the organization to allocate resources to the correct areas of need, Mike said after the ceremony.
He said he would like to build a relationship with the community by meeting students and holding events such as icebreakers, as well as having more officers out of patrol cars and walking or biking around campus.
Mike also spoke on the surveillance system implemented after the February 2023 campus shooting, saying the department has used the system as a tool to quickly identify individuals and help coordinate efforts to distribute resources.
Mike would like to leverage his resources and access to technology to communicate with the MSU community, he said.
The department understands that students come from a wide range of backgrounds and may have had different interactions and hold different perceptions of police, Mike said, so it’s been making efforts to expose officers to different areas of the state so they can fully grasp what diversity means.
Campus planning considers IM West removal, green space additions
With several buildings under construction and more in planning, Michigan State University is losing its green spaces. The Multicultural Center and Student Recreation and Wellness buildings are under construction now, but the university is planning for a Plant and Environmental Science building and a Health Sciences Building in the near future.
The campus plan also lists IM West under potential demolition. Campus planner Brandon List said IM West’s destruction is unconfirmed but there aren’t many reasons to keep it.
Brandon said they are certainly considering it and they have several reasons to. Renovating it will soon become more expensive than its worth because of the building’s age. He said, operationally, it makes sense to demolish a building when it’s at the end of its useful life so that the university isn’t heating or cooling it when it isn’t being used to its highest capacity. IM West also sits close to the Red Cedar River, which has a pattern of flooding.
Brandon said he is trying to give the river more space when looking to future development. He has hopes for additional green space in the triangular area between the stadium, Demonstration Hall and the river to benefit campus life and give the river some much-needed room.
Daniel Hayes, a professor of Fisheries and Wildlife at MSU, said leaving the area as a natural space might not change the flood patterns, but it can lessen the effects and even help the water quality in the river.
Daniel thinks students and faculty benefit from having a more natural environment and setting. The Baker Woodlot and Sanford natural areas have been a part of the campus for a long time and are a major part of MSU’s identity, he said.
Brandon List said he is keeping green space in mind, and while no student organizations have contacted him about green space preservation, he is open to communication.
Based on original reporting by Anish Topiwala, Alana Lundgaard and Anna Barnes.
