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Breaking barriers: Dana Watson’s journey as the second black woman on East Lansing City Council

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Council member Dana Watson is the second black woman to ever serve on the East Lansing City Council. She was appointed in 2020, and is currently serving her four-year term. 

One key focus for Watson is to influence and promote inclusivity. 

Being on council is a taxing responsibility, given that it takes up many hours of the day. The pay is $10,000 a year. Some of the city council meetings can run from 7 p.m. and can last until well past midnight. During the day, Watson works in public health as the health equity and social justice coordinator at the Ingham County Health Department. 

As a co-parent of three teenagers, this is not something that Watson likes about being a council member.

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Williamston Township celebrates AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award, commits to STEM inclusivity

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In Williamston Township, the recognition of the efforts to earn the Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science Female Diversity Award are highlighted on a plaque in the boardroom of the middle school. 

This past week, the Williamston Board of Education recognized the award received from 2023. The award was installed in Williamston Middle School by Superintendent Adam Spina and Rob Dexter, with the 2019 engraving of the same award. The award was given through the class Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles, which is an advanced placement program that allows high school students to experience and achieve college-level studies while still in high school. 

The school also was awarded with AP College Board Academic Honor Roll, supported with the scores that students achieved on AP level tests a couple months prior. 

Because of the previous gender gap in students that move on to study STEM related fields at the university level, the district decided that it was a good idea to start learning about this at an early age. 

“One of our goals was to make sure that we were engaging female students,” said Superintendent Adam Spina. “Encouraging them to pursue those courses as they were so inclined by school.”

Only 1,127 schools were awarded this for the 2022-2023 school year according to Quest. This award meant a lot to the school because it showed the efforts that the board and students have made to be recognized nationally. 

“Research shows that female students who take AP computer science are more likely to major in computer science in college compared with matched peers,” according to AP Central.

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MSU’s Breslin Center set to host annual spring concert with headliner Waka Flocka Flame

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MSU’s Breslin Student Events Center is most commonly known by students as the Izzone, in reference to the beloved basketball coach Tom Izzo, but it is also home to other events like the spring concert put on every year. The event is put on by ASMSU, Impact 89FM, RHA and UAB, all organizations at MSU. They have around a $100,000 budget for the concert. This is something that these organizations have taken over from MSU running the events in the past 10 years. The concert was held March 28 at the Breslin Center with the headliner Waka Flocka Flame and the opener Between Friends.

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Meridian Farmers’ Market Holds Weekend Event, Reflects on 50 Years of Operation

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The Meridian Farmers’ Market held its biweekly sale at the Meridian Mall on Saturday, March 16. Vendors old and new from across the state attended the event and sold various baked goods, flowers and produce, crafts, and food to-go. Herb Confer, owner of Sandy Ridge Maple Products, had his stall set up at the market on Saturday. As a maple syrup producer, Confer can sell more than your average maple syrup: he sells everything from maple sugar to maple cotton candy. “I’m a maple syrup producer.

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Meta’s New Feature Limits Political Content

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With a sharp increase in political content and posts revolving around social issues, Meta introduced a new feature to its social media platforms Instagram and Threads in March that filters political content for its users. 

The new feature automatically limits the political content available for users to see on their feeds. Users have the option to turn this feature off by going to their settings, “content preferences,” “political content,” and then choosing “Don’t limit political content from people you don’t follow.”

Meta says that this feature will not affect how users see content from people that they already follow, rather these limitations will apply to public accounts in places where content is recommended to users, such as the explore page, reels, and in-feed recommendations. A report from the Pew Research Center says that 84% of people surveyed believe that access to the internet and social media has made the public easy to manipulate with false information and rumors, and 65% think that it makes people more divided in their political opinions. While this new Meta feature may be attempting to remedy these drawbacks, it also comes with negative consequences. Michigan State University American politics professor Meghan Wilson thinks that this new feature should not exist.

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Donovan Edwards inspires young athletes to Open up about mental health

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Mental health among athletes is a topic rarely talked about, but it is an issue that is on the rise, especially among young athletes. Donovan Edwards, starting running back for the Michigan Wolverines, is using his success as a college football player and his struggles with mental health to encourage, educate and inspire young athletes. In March, Edwards spoke at Holy Trinity Catholic School in Swanton, Ohio, to talk to the students about the adversity he has faced, including the death of his mother when he was two years old.

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Dhammasala Forest Monastery prepares for busy summer

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The Dhammasala Forest Monastery follows the Dhammayut branch of Theravada Buddhism and offers many services that are open to the public. The monastery conducts daily food offerings and holds Dhamma talks every Saturday. Visitors of all faiths are welcome to walk along the monastery’s nature trails, especially during the flowering spring season.