The forecast predicts that the high will be 47 and the low will be 31.
Tucked-away campus greenhouse showcases world’s plants
As the burgeoning of springtime at Michigan State University brings thunderous rain storms, midday snow flurries and strong gusts to campus, one secluded spot presents a refuge from the unpredictable weather. The MSU Plant Biology Teaching Conservatory and Greenhouse is a temperature controlled facility designed to showcase a wide ranging botanical collection to the general public. The building features three sections which present flora from around the world in their optimal environments. Visitors can walk past the cyan and purple colored Jade vines that drape the front of the evolution room, through the arid room that contains giant aloe vera dispersed among the cacti and take a seat beside a small waterfall under the shade of trees adorned with fruit and flowers in the tropic room. The plant biology department also holds a monthly tea hour in the conservatory on the third Friday of each month. Securing funding for the conservatory has been a consistent issue, said the conservatory’s sole faculty caretaker, Greenhouse Coordinator Lisa Murphy, adding that she has at times raised funds by selling plants through the MSU Surplus Store. This spring, she plans to start selling plants through the conservatory’s website and auction off their prized Welwitschia mirabellis plants. Eventually, the goal is construct a new conservatory, Murphy said, but “that won’t happen if people don’t use the space.”
MSU’s Jeremy Fears Jr. named second-team All-American
MSU faces North Dakota State at 4:05 p.m. Thursday, but today, Jeremy Fears Jr. added to his trophy closet with his first national award. Rounding out a first-team All-Big Ten season, Jeremy Fears Jr. was named an AP second-team All-American. Starting every game this year, Fears averages a team-leading 15.7 points and 9.2 assists per game, which lead the nation. He has established himself as one of the best floor generals in the country as a redshirt sophomore. Fears passed Cassius Winston last Friday against UCLA on the single-season assist list. “It’s definitely something that I wanted to reach,” Fears said after practice on Monday. “Those guys [Winston and Mateen Cleaves] had great careers here, Final Fours, even a national championship. So that’s definitely stuff and goals that I have for myself.”
MSU signee Lilly Williams named Michigan Miss Basketball
In her first year attending public school, Howell High School senior Lilly Williams did almost everything a high school women’s basketball player could hope for. She officially signed to play Division I basketball at Michigan State in November, was selected as a McDonald’s All-American in February, helped snap Belleville’s 35-game winning streak en route to winning the KLAA Championship on Feb. 26 and was named Gatorade Michigan Girls Basketball Player of the Year on March 13. But the cherry on top came Monday, when she was named the 45th Michigan Miss Basketball winner. Williams becomes the first awarded Spartan since Damiya “DeeDee” Hagemann of Detroit Edison, who won the award in 2021, and is the 12th Spartan ever to earn the honor. She is also the first Howell student to win the award, which recognizes the best female high school senior basketball player in the state, as voted on by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan.
