We all love MSU. We love the campus, we love our friends and classmates, we love the Red Cedar River, we even love the Wells Hall preacher and blizzards in March. But what would it be like if we were students somewhere else? What if we went to a school with only a fraction of the students we have here? What if we went to a school in the south, on the east coast or in the west? What if we went to a private or a religious school?

MSU has over 36,000 undergraduate students, it is located East Lansing, Mich. and it is public and secular.

Tulane University has about 5,500 undergraduate students, it is located in New Orleans, La. and it is private and secular.

Brigham Young University has about 30,000 undergrads, it is located in Provo, Utah, and it is private and religious, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

What would it be like to go to one of these schools? And in comparison, what does it mean to be a Spartan?

Tulane University

Marisa Muniak is a 20-year-old junior at Tulane University who is studying cellular biology. She calls New Orleans “the greatest college town ever” and says she absolutely loves her school, but she isn’t from the city, or from Louisiana, or even from the South – in fact, she was born and raised in Michigan. She attended Boyne City High School, where she graduated in 2007. So why Tulane?

“I had visited New Orleans before and loved the city,” Muniak said. “I grew up in a small little boring city, so actually seeing a huge city with lots of life, it was amazing. And they also had the program I wanted…it was meant to be.”

Tulane is a private school with about 1,500 incoming freshman each year. With about 5,500 undergraduates total, the student to faculty ratio is eight to one, and the average class size is 22 students. There are about 75 majors available and on-campus students live in one of eight residence halls. Tuition along with mandatory fees, such as for the student health and recreation centers, comes to about $42,000 for an academic year.

In her third year now, Muniak lives off-campus after spending her two required years in the dorms. Unlike many students here at MSU who live in housing that is essentially exclusive to students, Muniak and her roommate live in an area where they are the only Tulane students, although their neighbors are Tulane professors. She added that the rest of the people living around them are non-student New Orleans residents.

“But we’re like a five, seven minute walk from campus,” Muniak said. “I’m sure if you were just like one or two blocks off campus there would be a lot more students.”

A five or seven minute walk? To a Tulane student, that might be a long way away, but to an MSU student, it’s probably shorter than a walk between buildings on campus. Five to seven minutes would get you from some of the closest East Lansing apartments to about the Union. So what’s it like going to such a small school?

“I can walk around campus and even though I may not know somebody’s name, or even what year they are or major or anything, it’s still a familiar face,” Muniak said. “And all the workers on campus, they’re all so sweet.”

Muniak said that attitude is part of the southern culture.

“What they say about southern hospitality, it totally exists,” she said. “It’s so different, we make jokes all the time on campus because a lot of us are from the Midwest or the East, we’re always joking about like, ‘Oh, in the North people don’t hold doors open for us.’”

Going to a college that was built in a pre-existing city instead of one that essentially created its own city like MSU has also had an effect on Muniak’s experience. She said she loves the fact that when she’s in New Orleans, not everybody is a student – in fact, most people aren’t. She frequents jazz clubs and other venues for local music, loves southern cooking (red beans and rice is her favorite dish) and has adjusted to a whole new way of life.

“We’re all on New Orleans time down here – things will happen when they happen, and it doesn’t, no worries,” Muniak said. “It’s definitely become something I love.”

She added that college culture is a lot different than at a big state school – freshman usually only go to one or two football games at Tulane before they give up on the team. “Anything [athletic] we do, we’re horrible,” Muniak said. But there are some things that are somewhat universal.

“There’s definitely plenty of partying,” she said. “There’s huge Greek life here. One side of campus – there’s plenty of houses along there and a lot people go to those.”

From nightlife to housing, Muniak’s experience gives an idea of what it’s like to live and study at a relatively small private school located in a big city.

“It’s been a lot of hard work as far as academics, but the environment that I’m in has really made it worth it,” Muniak said. “Knowing I’m going to have a hard exam on Friday but then Saturday I can go and listen to this world-renowned jazz musician – something to look forward to at the end of the road – has been great.”

Brigham Young University

Sabrina Smith is one of the very few African American students on her campus in Provo, Utah. In the fall of 2009, BYU had 29,587 undergraduates. Smith, an elementary music education sophomore and Florida native was one of only 165 African Americans – that’s about 0.5 percent. In comparison, about eight percent of MSU undergraduates in fall of 2009 were African American.

“Utah itself isn’t as diverse as where I’m from,” Smith said. “It’s primarily Caucasian people here…I wish that there was more diversity, but I think that every year it gets a little bit better.”

Smith may be a minority in racial terms, but in another way she is part of the most significant majority population on campus. Like 98.7 percent of students at BYU, Smith is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as the Mormon church.

BYU was founded by Brigham Young himself in 1875, when Young was the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. According to BYU’s website, Young told the principal of the school at the time, “Brother Maeser, I want you to remember that you ought not to teach even the alphabet or the multiplication tables without the Spirit of God.”

BYU takes that instruction to heart. Religion is incorporated into every aspect of student life, from academics to housing to behavioral guidelines. Fourteen religion credits are required to graduate, which Smith says means students are taking a religion class almost every semester. In addition, religion is a common theme throughout other classes as well.

“Every class is supposed to incorporate the gospel as far as the curriculum allows it to,” Smith said. “So in pretty much any class they can bring up a scripture and associate it with whatever we’re talking about, and in most syllabi you get there will be at least one quote from the scriptures.”

Smith was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (she calls herself LDS), so she said the environment at BYU wasn’t a big change for her. One of the 439 non-LDS students enrolled in the fall of 2009 might have found it hard to adjust to not being able to drink coffee, tea or alcohol or conforming to strict dress and grooming standards. All behavioral standards are explained in BYU’s Honor Code, which requires students to “seek to demonstrate in daily living on and off campus those moral virtues encompassed in the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

This means no alcohol, no sex, no profanity, no beards for the men and no sleeveless shirts for the women, among other things.

“All lot of it has to do with dressing, grooming, which is like how you’re obviously dressing your body and also your hair,” Smith said. “Boys have to keep their hairstyle pretty short, it has to be above their ears and no one, girl or boy can have any kind of drastic hair color or style, and dress is supposed to be modest. On-campus and off-campus you’re not supposed to be using profanity, you’re not supposed to be watching anything that is in appropriate. Basically you’re just saying with the Honor Code that you’re going to uphold the gospel of the church.”

All off-campus housing must be approved by the university as meeting certain living standards and visiting hours are from 9 a.m. to 12 a.m.. No members of the opposite sex are allowed in bedrooms, and no members of the opposite sex are allowed to use bathroom facilities “unless emergency or civility dictates otherwise,” according to the Honor Code. All students must be in good Honor Code standing in order to receive a diploma.

The Honor Code may seem restricting to an outsider, but Smith said following it isn’t that different from simply following the rules of the LDS religion in daily life.

“It’s supposed to be what you’re living your life as anyways if you’re LDS,” Smith said. “And the people I know who aren’t LDS that go to BYU say that it isn’t really that big of an adjustment, because before they came to the school they knew what they were getting into.”

Even with strict behavioral guidelines, Smith said there is a lot that BYU students can do to have fun. Popular activities include going to the dollar theater, the bowling alley or attending one of the frequent university-organized activities.

“There is a lot of partying at BYU, but it’s different,” Smith said. “There isn’t any alcohol, but there isn’t any smoking, so in that respect it’s different. But there are a lot of dance parties and that kind of thing in Provo. There’s a lot of dancing.”

In addition, many male and female students actually do live together –  because they are married. Smith said it is very common for undergraduate students to marry at a young age, something she found very odd when she moved from Florida to Utah.

“Most students I know of get married by the time they graduate BYU, and that’s pretty standard,” Smith said. “There are lots of people in my classes who are engaged or married and I’m only a sophomore, so they’re about my same age, about 19 or 20.”

In spite of the cultural adjustment, Smith said she has enjoyed her time at BYU so far.

“I’m in the music program, so I really like the music aspect,” Smith said. “There are so many classes on music you can take, and they’re all very interesting. I also like that in any class you can have a gospel-centered discussion and that’s open. In some universities you can’t really bring up religion that much, and at BYU it’s very open.”

Michigan State University

We all know the basics about MSU. Over 47,000 students, non-religious, public. Great athletic programs, hundreds of possible majors and even more student organizations. The majority of us are from Michigan, so we grew up cheering on the Spartans in football and basketball, maybe even visiting friends or siblings on campus. We know what life is like here – what to expect from our classes, what clubs and organizations are most popular, what students tend to do on the weekends. But what does MSU look like to someone who didn’t grow up around this environment?

Rosie Williamson, a 20-year-old arts and humanities sophomore from New Jersey said she toured over 20 colleges, including Ohio State University, Indiana, Illinois and Pennsylvania State University before deciding on MSU. She chose MSU for several reasons, including the respected Spartan Marching Band in which she plays the trumpet, the location and the campus itself.

“It’s just one of the prettiest campuses I’ve ever visited,” Williamson said. “It’s so lush green, and the fact that we get all the seasons – I know everyone hates the snow, but I love the snow.”

The East Coast-native said that moving to the Midwest was definitely an adjustment.

“New Jersey and New York are very fast-paced and really loud and kind of have jagged edges everywhere, and the Midwest doesn’t,” Williamson said. “Even the major cities like Chicago, it’s got the charm of New York City, but it’s slower and nicer and cleaner.”

Gabe Santi, director of communications in the MSU Office of Admissions, and a graduate from the MSU School of Journalism, also emphasized the attitude of MSU students, faculty and staff as one of the best things about the university.

“One hundred and fifty years ago to go to college you had to be rich, you had to be white, you had to be male,” Santi said. “And Michigan State being the nation’s pioneer land-grant institution kind of changed that a little…Down-to-earth, hardworking, real, authentic, tangible – those are the words that come to mind when people talk about Michigan State and there’s a reason for that and it’s certainly because of the history of this place, but it’s also a testament to the current student body – people get that Spartan tradition. We use the word Spartan family a lot. It’s a large institution, but when you get right down to it, it’s a pretty close-knit place.”

Williamson agreed that in spite of MSU’s large size, the university has a small-town feel to it, which was another of the factors that attracted her to the university, in addition to the fact that MSU is a Big Ten school.

“I absolutely love the athletics at this school,” Williamson said. “I love the spirit that this school has for all the athletics, whether or not people attend. At least people are watching it and talking about it – I think that’s really great.”

Santi added that it is the Spartan spirit that tends to bond people together, whether it is current students, professors or alumni.

“Once you’re on campus and you interact this place a little, you start to bleed green,” Santi said. “It’s going to be with you for the rest of your life. You’re going to see people throughout the country, throughout the world and you’re going to have that instant bond…I think there is something a little indescribable that’s part of this place, that’s kind of just woven into the fabric of its founding.”

I’m sitting at my best friend’s house at midnight, fighting to stay awake. I think about going home, and my stomach turns into a knot; I double over and a wave of fear reminds me why I’m here. My house is haunted.

Before October, I’d never had an interest in ghosts. I joked around about Northern Michigan’s Dogman and hid behind walls to scare my sister sometimes. I dressed up in sheets for Halloween and may or may not have gone to a corn maze when I was younger. But I certainly didn’t believe in them and made fun of people who claimed to have had paranormal experiences.

All of that changed when my ghost first talked to me.

I’d just showered, and I was brushing my hair. “Hi,” I heard in my ear, and I whipped around. Nobody was there. I was home alone. I yelled obscenities and called my roommate, Brie, in hysterics. From there we were suspicious and started thinking there might be a ghost in our house. At that point, I’d like to thank my friends and family for assuming there was a ghost in my house and not that I was crazy.

Maverick, our cat, doesn't like the ghost. He sometimes chases things that don't exist, and hisses at strange events. (photo credit: Emily Lawler)

People heard noises, my cat did some weird stuff, but nothing happened for a while. My friends insisted on holding a seance… We picked the creepiest place and found a child’s old-fashioned coat in my attic. We’d all been drinking and nobody could keep a straight enough face for spirit-summoning. The night ended with my friend’s mom on speakerphone reading us Wikipedia spirit-summoning instructions and everybody agreed that talking about the ghost while in our house was too scary- we agreed to refer to it as our G.

In mid-November, Brie was sitting on the couch with Maverick, our cat. They were doing homework and sleeping, respectively, while I slept in my room. According to Brie, her door beads parted into curtains and slammed together, seemingly by themselves. Maverick ran to her doorway and hissed before cowering in a corner all night.

They say animals are better at sensing things, but Maverick’s just a friendly cat of less-than-average intelligence. I’ve never seen him hiss- not when a stray cat ran into my house and tried to fight him, not when I dressed him as a reindeer, not when we played catch with “Mavball”, held his eyes so he was a “Siamese cat,” or stood on couches and held him up like baby Simba from The Lion King. So when he hissed that night, it was a big deal.

Next were the slippers. Brie went into the shower and put her slippers and robe in the bathroom where she could slip into them when she was done. When she got out of the shower, only her robe was there. The door was still closed, I was in my room with Maverick, and we couldn’t figure it out. I helped her look around the house, under her covers, under my bed… They weren’t anywhere. So she left for a friend’s house and politely petitioned the ghost to return them. When she got back from dinner and a movie, they were placed in the middle of her bed.

I have a hard time being nice to the ghost- it would be different if he paid rent or gave fair warning when he was planning on visiting. It’s not like I think he wants to eat my firstborn child or possess me, he’s just an asshole.

So when my time with the G came, shit went down. I was in the shower, and the door was shut. Suddenly I felt a draft of cold air, and suspected I was not alone. A peek outside the curtain confirmed by suspicions: Maverick stared at me for a second and then tried to fight with me through the curtain.

I kicked the bugger out, and assumed he’d gotten the door open despite his stupidity (he’s not exactly the land-on-all-fours type). But when I was going toward my room, I happened to look at Brie’s beads. One strand looked as if it were being pulled out, held for a minute, and let go. Pulled out, held for a minute, and let go.

“God damnit, G!” I yelled, “Can’t you do something useful? Like the dishes?”

I got dressed and watched the single strand move inexplicably. Maverick and I went to bed.

At 1 a.m. I woke up to a crash and looked in the living room to find our Christmas tree had fallen over. It had been up for over a month, and, outside of when Maverick had climbed to the top and tipped it over, it was pretty stable. I couldn’t find an explanation as to why it would have fallen and, like all the unexplained happenings around our house lately, I blamed it on the G. I took it as a sign I should no longer demand housework of him.

And then, earlier this week, I was in my room and kept hearing footsteps while I was doing my homework. Intermittently, back and forth, the squeaky spot on the living room floor squeaking. Annoying. Scary.

Brie came home and was sitting in her room while I was in mine. She said something, and I got up and caught a shadow out of the corner of my eye. She’d thought it was me walking across our dark living room in shadow. I’d like to know who it really was, but they’re dead and hard to track.

That night we had weird dreams, which I attribute to nerves as much as paranormal phenomenon. The next day I went to city hall and requested the records of everybody that had leased my house. The records only went back until 1993, and I could only find the companies, not occupants.

I then walked into the police office, and asked the officer on duty how to know if anybody had ever died at my house. I gave him the address, and he ran it by a few of his cop friends. Nobody remembered anybody dying, and he’d been working in East Lansing for 23 years. I’m sure they thought I was crazy.

My friend Alisha, editor in chief at Spartanedge, remembered publishing a story on an MSU student that did paranormal investigations. I contacted the student they interviewed, and she’s agreed to come over sometime next week. My parents also insisted I contact my mom’s cousin, a Catholic priest. I’m supposed to meet with him about a blessing.

I’m not really looking for answers, just solutions. I want to be able to come home at night and study, no noises, no objects moving, no shadows and no worries. Please. I’m open to whatever. I don’t know anything about ghosts, demons, Native American smudging ceremonies, house blessings or exorcisms. In the meantime, I’m going to be doing my homework at friend’s houses, and hoping people come visit me every weekend so I’m never alone.

I can only hope the G will take a vacation too.

Update 5/3: The G appears to be G-G-Gone! My mom’s cousin the Priest (Father Joe Krupp) blessed my house — we said some prayers together and he gave me a candle blessed by the bishop. Since that time, there has been absolutely no ghostly activity. So many thanks to Fr. Krupp and the Catholic Church.

Katie Frey celebrated her 21^st birthday for four days.  Sounds like the perfect formula for an epic hangover, right?  However, the MSU student decided to only drink during one of those days.  The rest of the time she chose to spend with family and friends, completely sober.

“I’m really glad I chose the way I did.  I got to celebrate with all the people that I wanted to and in a way that I could remember everything,” Frey said.

Frey spent the evening of her birthday having dinner with her family.  She had one glass of wine at dinner and went for a couple of drinks with her best friend later that night.  After that she spent the next two days without alcohol having game nights with friends in East Lansing and her hometown.

“I really wanted to spend quality time with all my friends, and most of my friends are under 21,” Frey said.

Finally, on the fourth day of celebrations, Frey had a picnic with her extended family and also her boyfriend’s family.  Again, she didn’t drink, deciding that she had plenty of time to go out to the bars later.

“I really believe that life can be just as rich and wonderful and fun and adventurous and crazy without alcohol,” Frey said.  “Drinking can be fun, but if you let it consume your life, you miss out.”

Andrew Rutherford, who turned 21 during finals week in December, cited safety as an important element to remember.  Rutherford said that his mother, who works at Sparrow Hospital, sees people being brought in to have their stomach pumped all the time.

“I think a lot of people just think that people go out with their friends, and they’ll go to the furthest extreme they can get,” Rutherford said.

Rutherford decided to take a break from finals and celebrate his birthday with friends at a local restaurant.  He had a few drinks throughout the night and paced himself.

Rutherford said that he had too much going for him to mess it up by getting into a risky situation.

“I think people on their 21^st birthday, it’s like they made it and they just don’t care for a night, and that can be really dangerous,” he said.

While some individual students are shying away from the stereotype of overindulging on their 21^st birthday, managers of East Lansing bars are also encouraging celebrating carefully.

Paul Stewart, manager of Crunchy’s, said that he wants customers to enjoy themselves while celebrating responsibly.

“Being able to go to the bars is part of college life, but it shouldn’t have ill-effects against your college life,” Stewart said.

In order to achieve safety for customers, Crunchy’s and many other East Lansing bars are members of the Responsible Hospitality Council (RHC).

According to the RHC webpage, “The purpose of the RHC is to adopt practices that promote responsible advertising, safe on-site management, community stewardship, compliance with state and local liquor laws and responsible alcohol consumption by our patrons.”

Stewart, who is an executive board member of the RHC, explained that the RHC has specific rules for patrons celebrating their 21^st birthday.  According to a Best Practices document, a few of the rules include:  the celebrant and designated driver are identified, the table may only have one server, no one is allowed to order directly from the bar and service will be refused to the table if it needs to be stopped to any member of the table.

According to the website, there are currently 17 establishments that are members of the RHC.

Francisco Delatorre, manager of Harper’s Restaurant & Brew Pub, said that Harper’s tries to avoid hosting 21^st birthday parties.  He also said that patrons are not allowed to become very intoxicated because his employees are trained to recognize the signs of too much to drink.  He advised that students not drink too much on their 21^st birthday and to definitely not drive after drinking.  According to the RHC webpage, Harper’s is a member of the RHC.

Chelsea Grantham is another MSU student that chose to not drink too much on her 21^st birthday.  Grantham said that she drank less on her 21^st birthday than she had on previous birthdays because she wanted to have fun and remember it, too.  Grantham also said that she didn’t want to adhere to the stereotype of getting too drunk.

Grantham said that students might feel pressured to drink more on their 21^st birthday because strangers will buy them drinks, and people are encouraged to do “more shots than average.”

It is possible to not have to be carried home after turning 21.  Some MSU students are not always overindulging, and bars are encouraging that.  Either way, students should be careful while celebrating.  After all, being able to remember the experience and the stories that go with it is half the fun.

City of East Lansing Winter Festival and Chili Cook-off

Dec. 6, 1-4 p.m. at Ann Street Plaza, Parking Lot 1 and the East Lansing Marriott at University Place

Take a break from the cold December weather and head under the heated tent to place your vote for the best soup and chili recipes in East Lansing. Served up by local restaurants, the competitors will be contending for first, second and third place in the People’s and Judge’s Choice Awards. There will be lots of other winter activities too, including a reindeer petting zoo, roaming carolers, photos with Santa, ice carving, roasted chestnuts, hot chocolate and horse and carriage rides.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band: A Creole Christmas

Dec. 4 and 5, Pasant Theatre

Sick of the same old Christmas songs? This New Orleans band is sure to revitalize your favorite classics with their famous jazz and ragtime style. You’ll be ready for the holidays after this gumbo of carols, spiced up with just the right hint of Creole rhythm and blues.

Men’s Basketball vs. Oakland

Dec. 10, 7 p.m. at the Breslin Center

Take a break from studying to cheer on the Spartans as they take on the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. Make a sign or break out some dance moves to get your five seconds of fame on the JumboTron.

Jerry Seinfeld

Dec. 17, 7 p.m. at the Wharton Center

Hit up this event for some stand-up comedy before you head home for break. Seinfeld is even better in person than the reruns of his sitcom you’ll have on while you’re studying some last minute flashcards before finals.

Meijer Holiday Hoops Invitational

Dec. 26, 11:00 a.m. at the Breslin Center

You might not be ready for a game of hoops after Christmas dinner, but be sure to check out some local basketball teams at the Meijer Holiday Hoops Invitational. All proceeds are donated to the Sparrow Foundation, which has earned $75,000 to date from the event. Tip-offs for the six games are scattered throughout the day and one ticket is good for all admissions.

SCENE

“The Bremen Town Musicians”

November 27-29 & December 4-6, 2009, Riverwalk Theatre Mainstage

A family friendly show about animals looking to live the good life and be musicians.

HEARD

Re:Action Battle of the Bands

December 4, Erickson Hall Kiva, 7 pm, Free

Ten of MSU’s organizations are collaborating to bring 4 local bands to campus and raise awareness for their work to make better world.  It’s a “social event for social justice.”  Bands include: Fields of Industry, Januzzi Watchmen, Empire! Empire! (I was a lonely estate), and Res Publica.

How the Fifth’s Stole Christmas

December 4, Kellogg Center, $5 tickets at the door

Every Sparty
Down in Sparty-ville
Liked Christmas a lot…

But the students,
Who had to take midterms,
Did NOT!

They hated semesters end! The whole midterm season!
They wrote papers, made projects and wrote blue books for no reason.
High stress during this time of year did not seem right.
Someone must do something, please put up a fight!

To distract all the Sparty’s who long for some cheer.
But, wait. What are those wonderful noises you hear?
The sound wasn’t sad!
Why, this sound sounded merry!
It couldn’t be so!
Midterm season was scary!

The students opened their doors and opened their ears.
And 16 lovely voices ended their exam fears.
They then heard a sound rising over the snow.
It started off low, then it started to grow…

They were “Rockin’ the Suburbs” and asking “Whatcha Say”?
“Falling Slowly” and saying “Hey girl, hey!”
Their heroes had come and at the perfect time
A week before exam week, a time that is fine.
State of Fifths was their name, they had both girls and boys.
They knew that the stage would be filled with lights and toys.

“Let’s walk towards the sound and see this glorious show!”
So they walked and they walked and they trudged through the snow.
Their feet led them to a beautiful scene
The Kellogg Center was before them and their bright lights gleamed.
Inside they walked and for only five bucks
They could watch the show, because studying sucks.

December 4th was the day of this festive event
Even some of Oakland University’s Golden Grizzlies went.
They came to hear the sound of the Vibrations
When the Fifths and GV joined forces they honestly change nations.

So come to hear the sounds that sparked this tale.
And I promise if you leave your books you will not fail.
Come hear the songs that I got to hear
Then after the show have some egg nog and/or beer.

Maybe Christmas, this year, will come after all!
So come hear State of Fifths, you will have a ball.

-      Dr. Steven Seuss Book

MSU’s Home for the Holidays

December 5, Wharton Center, 8pm

Celebrate the holidays with MSU’s Symphony Orchestra, Men’s and Women’s Glee Clubs and the MSU Children’s Choir.