Aug. 23, 2013
It started as just a trickle a few weeks ago, as a few upperclassmen unloaded boxes into the houses on Spartan Street as I drove home each evening. That trickle sent ripples out into the community as businesses started preparing for the wave that was building. Soon, a sprinkling of old furniture dotted the curbsides in the neighborhood just north of Grand River.
Then last week, a steady stream of students from other countries started appearing around campus, at the malls and on the buses. The flow of traffic improved as summer construction projects came to an end and roads and sidewalks reopened.
All of this is surging toward next week. This weekend, an absolute flood of students will move in to the residence halls and settle in to their homes-away-from-home. The tide has turned. The summer is over and my favorite time on campus is just around the bend—the start of the fall semester.
It’s the start of another year for students to make a splash and researchers to find solutions to the world’s current problems.
Like water. Here in Michigan, surrounded by the Great Lakes, it doesn’t feel like water is a problem. But it is. And MSU researchers are working hard to solve issues like water scarcity and contamination. Check out the latest MSUToday feature, H20 SOS, to learn more about their important work.
Joan Rose is one of MSU’s superstar water researchers. She serves as the Homer Nowlin Chair in Water Research at MSU, the co-director of the Center for Advancing Microbial Risk Assessment, director of the Center for Water Sciences and as part of the Global Water Initiative at MSU. In this week’s Faculty Voice, she talks about flushing her work down the toilet at the start of her career.
Speaking of students making a splash, the 2013-14 Homecoming Court ambassadors have dove right into their jobs representing MSU even before classes start. They made a parade appearance, met with alumni and have been writing blogs.
In Elliot Zirulnik’s latest entry, shared here in the Student View, he talks about his experiences from two study abroad programs—a fisheries and wildlife program in South Africa and rainforest ecology course in sub-Saharan Africa where he watched wild animals gather around a watering hole.
Even with the overflow of traffic and less parking spaces, I can’t wait for the deluge of students this weekend. I look forward to the overflow of people and the rapid pace of days. Summer is over and it’s time to get your Spartan on. Check out this cool video to see how we’re getting ready. Get Your Spartan On>>
Spartans Will.
Lisa Mulcrone
Editor, MSUToday
Photo of the Red Cedar River by Kurt Stepnitz