This is not the March newsletter I began in early February. And that was not the February any of us thought we would experience. March has arrived, spring break is here, and we still have work to do and students to support. Please let us know how we can continue to support you as you help your students.
Of all the months in the year, March is a Spartan’s favorite month. We know you’ve seen it before — January, February, Izzo, April — it does bring a certain amount of “madness” with it, and we need your help in communicating to students what it means to be a Spartan in March. We are also keenly aware of possible overindulging behaviors after high-stress events. Please remind your student of the medical amnesty policy and that MSU has supports for students with questions about their own or others’ behaviors. It’s also important to remember that all choices have consequences, and we hope students make good choices.
Take good care,
Laurin Gierman, Director
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Campus Safety and Security
Interim President Woodruff shared a campus safety update March 1. In the email, she shared some of the initial decisions made and work that will begin soon. One of the changes is that an MSU ID will be needed to access many academic buildings on campus after 6 p.m., therefore students will need to ensure they are carrying their MSU ID. This change goes into effect Monday, March 13.
You can read the full message here.
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Additional Parent Session with Dr. Jim Henry
Jim Henry, Ph.D., has offered to conduct an additional session for families of students impacted by the tragic events of Feb. 13. Dr. Henry is an expert in trauma assessment, response and resiliency and has held sessions for the MSU communities of students, families, faculty and staff. Please register here to join this special family Q&A period with Dr. Henry, Tuesday, March 7, at 6 p.m. EST.
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Memorial Items on Campus
Due to harsh weather conditions and the deterioration of flowers and signs, memorial items are being collected and processed March 2.
Students, faculty and staff were welcomed to participate in the process. The flowers will be preserved, turned into mulch and included in the planting of a memorial tree later this year. This will serve as a reminder of the Spartans lost this academic year. Signs and other memorial items will be preserved by MSU Archives and the MSU Museum.
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Housing Sign-Up
First-year students received an email Feb. 27 with 2023-24 Housing Sign-Up updates, including a reminder that Housing Contracts, single-room requests, and Living-Learning Community (LLC) housing requests are due Friday, March 10. Students who have signed their Housing Contracts will be able to create roommate groups and select their specific rooms after spring break. If you are a family member supporting a current first-year student, please remind them of this very important process. You can find more information on sign-up and housing exceptions to the two-year Live On requirement at liveon.msu.edu.
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Spring Break 2023
Spring break is March 6-10, and many students will be taking time away from campus. If your student is staying at MSU, the residence halls remain open and residential dining will consolidate for break. Most campus buildings will be open, but your students may want to check hours of operation if headed out and about on campus.
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Academic Advising and Enrollment
All students should be preparing for fall 2023 course enrollment, which opens by appointment Monday, March 13. Students can find their enrollment appointment date in their SIS portal. The cart functionality is always available for students, and its use is encouraged to make the enrollment process easier. Enrollment resources and information can be found here. Open enrollment, which means any current student can enroll for fall 2023, begins March 23.
It is also important that students work with their academic adviser or graduate program director prior to making any decision on course credit/no-credit for spring semester. Those decisions do not need to be made until the end of the semester. Please visit this webpage for additional information and frequently asked questions about the credit/no-credit option.
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Spartan Strong Scammers
It is unfortunate that some people choose to use a tragedy to make money, and some even make false claims about what will be done with profits. Please be aware that only licensed companies working directly with the university can legally produce Spartan Strong merchandise. The licensing process ensures the protection of the MSU brand, protects producers of the goods, and supports MSU students by using royalties for scholarships and special programming.
A few of the vendors selling licensed Spartan Strong merchandise are Spartan Spirit Shops, Spartan Bookstore, Nudge Printing, Shop.msuspartans.com, and Underground Printing as well as Meijer stores. Please note that several of these online stores have paused their orders due to the overwhelming number of shirts already purchased. Continue to watch their sites for resumption of product sales.
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Dining During Ramadan
Beginning March 22 through April 21, Culinary Services will have options available in residential and retail dining for those observing Ramadan. There will be hot options in the evening and in the morning before sunup. Residential dining menus at Brody Square, South Pointe at Case, The Vista at Shaw, and The Edge at Akers will have at least one option for Ramadan, including a halal protein complete plate, and in some cases, an additional plant-forward vegan/vegetarian complete plate option. Retail services will offer packaged halal items as part of the CX in Sparty’s locations across campus. Keep an eye on the Eat at State website for more details.
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Student Food Bank
The MSU Student Food Bank is the nation’s first food pantry to be run by students for students. Many students experience food insecurity and don’t realize there is help and support available on campus. Students are welcomed once per week per household, by appointment. Over the course of one year, the MSU Student Food Bank serves more than 6,000 students and distributes more than 110,000 pounds of food. Monetary donations designated to the MSU Student Food Bank are greatly appreciated.
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Commencement
Get ready to toss that mortarboard in the air! Congratulations to all those Spartan families with a spring graduate! We regularly receive questions like "how many tickets can we get" (no tickets are needed!), "when is the ceremony" (there is one for all university grads and one for each college), and others both timely and necessary. For all commencement-related information including parking, when doors open, how long ceremonies last, etc., visit commencement.msu.edu for those answers and many others you didn’t know you needed.
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