The State News

06/24/2026

At Michigan State University, they tell you the Spartan logo lives everywhere. Even at a lacrosse practice 9,410 miles away. To the University of Sydney, Isabel Olson is a neuroscience and biochemistry student. To her lacrosse teammates? She’s an MSU fan — always repping the green and white.

Isabel Olson, a student at The University of Sydney (Australia), collects MSU merchandise after spending a summer in Michigan and experiencing an MSU football game and community.

06/24/2026

A local citizens group called Let East Lansing Vote is collecting signatures for its 2026 petition drive to revise the East Lansing city charter, requiring City Council elections to take place during even years.

According to the Let East Lansing Vote website, as it currently stands, the only offices regularly elected during odd years are members of the City Council, causing low voter representation and turnout.

The group, co-founded by Michigan State University professors in the Department of Political Science, Sarah Rechow, Liam Richichi, Nazita Lajevardi and Adam Delay, officially organized in spring 2026 and is out collecting signatures now.

A local citizens' group called Let East Lansing Vote is collecting signatures for its 2026 petition drive to revise the East Lansing city charter, requiring City Council elections to take place during even years.

06/23/2026

Closing out a busy first year at Michigan State University teaching and founding a record label with the Residential College of Arts and Humanities, Professor Austin Oting Har is not slowing down. His nine-year opera project, "The Ghost – Act 1: Part 1," took to streaming platforms on Friday, June 19.

Austin Oting Har, a professor in RCAH, further explores his own art with new opera album.

06/23/2026

In 2023, the Campus Archaeology Program at MSU made a groundbreaking discovery: the foundation of the original, 145-year-old campus observatory that was demolished in the 1920s. Now, the team is back at the excavation site, hoping to uncover more information about the history of the building and the people who once utilized it.

In 2023, the Campus Archaeology Program at MSU made a groundbreaking discovery: the foundation of the original, 145-year-old campus observatory that was demolished in the 1920s. Now, the team is back at the excavation site, hoping to uncover more information about the history of the building and the...

06/18/2026

Trustees have become the target of public frustration over the recent departures of university President Kevin Guskiewicz and athletic director J Batt — backlash that has escalated into concerns for their safety.

Following Michigan State University’s loss of two top administrators, public discourse questioning the school’s leadership has been in full effect.

06/17/2026

Recent MSU board meetings have been filled with public disagreement and censure, and the university has lost its president Kevin Guskiewicz and Athletic Director J Batt.

The events have led to discourse amongst students, alumni and even men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo who called for alumni to stand up, adding, "What happened with our president is ridiculous, he said it, we know the reasons and I'm ashamed, disgusted, hurt."

That discourse has led to petitions, emails, brand-new social media accounts and posts streamlining potential cell numbers and home addresses of the trustees.

Discourse surrounding Board of Trustees controversy following former President Kevin Guskiewicz and Athletic Director J Batt's departures have sparked a petition, advocacy social media accounts and the sharing of Trustees' personal information. Amid the discourse, Ed Tillet, the Director of Multicul...

06/17/2026

The East Lansing City Council unanimously passed the proposed amendments to the Human Rights Ordinance during its June 16 meeting.

Human Rights Commission members and community members called for a delay in the council’s vote on the ordinance revisions that would strip the commission of investigative powers it had held for over 60 years.

Under the amended ordinance, the HRC would instead have the limited power to receive complaints, review them, evaluate them based on the information presented and hear from both the complainant and the respondent at public hearings and consider evidence.

The East Lansing City Council unanimously passed the proposed amendments to the Human Rights Ordinance during its June 16 meeting.

06/17/2026

Damage to property and various traffic violations were reported last week.

06/16/2026

Following a decade of leadership shakeups and public disputes among university leaders, Michigan State University is entering another period of uncertainty. Students and alumni say the successive departures of University President Kevin Guskiewicz and Athletic Director J Batt have left them wondering what the future holds for the university amid calls for stability.

Students and alumni say the successive departures of university president Kevin Guskiewicz and Athletic Director J Batt have left them wondering what the future holds for the university amid calls for stability.

06/16/2026

Michigan State University athletes will now sport a familiar logo on their jerseys. In the first partnership of its kind, all 23 men's and women’s teams will have the Michigan State University Federal Credit Union logo on their jerseys.

Michigan State University Athletes will now sport a familiar logo on their jerseys: Michigan State University Financial Credit Union.