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In today's news: MSU hosts mental health events for students and staff, MSU's Student Cold Case Unit provides opportunities to re-investigate popular cases. When Title IX investigators handle a case, university lawyers have 'a few suggestions', Momentum has slipped from MSU football, just as Jonathan Smith’s future has.
Creators and Guests
What is The State - A Podcast from The State News + Impact 89FM?
The State is a daily rundown of the headlines that matter to the East Lansing, MI community.
Hi, and welcome to The State. I'm your host, Rebecca McVoy. Today's date is 10/17/2025. The forecast predicts that it will be a cool day with the high being 66 and the low being 46. The state brings you the stories that matter.
Speaker 1:Starting today off, MSU hosts mental health events for students and staff. With October being Disability Pride Month at Michigan State University, University Health and Well-being is hosting plenty of events to honor and celebrate the contributions of the disability community. Counseling and Psychiatric Services, along with other university departments, is hosting Mental Health First Aid for Higher Education, an evidence based training program aiming to help students recognize and respond to signs of mental health and substance use. MSU's student cold case unit provides opportunities to reinvestigate popular cases. Along with the rise in popularity of true crime content such as TV shows and podcasts, interest in this topic has grown as well.
Speaker 1:For students at Michigan State University who are fascinated by the true crime world, the Student Cold Case Unit can provide opportunities to act as detectives to reinvestigate cases that they may be interested in. Through the Student Cold Case Unit, students are encouraged to bring their fresh perspectives on well known cases to discuss with other students such as the Oakland County Child Killer and the Zodiac Killer. President and Criminal Justice and Psychology senior Maggie Miltek said the organization usually takes on high profile cases and re examines the investigation with fresh sets of eyes. When Title IX investigators handle a case, university lawyers have a few suggestions. Michigan State University's lawyers and Title IX investigators are working together in an awkward intersection, with the Office of General Counsel and Office of Institutional Equity having divergent mandates.
Speaker 1:Documents obtained by the state news reveal constant communication between investigators and university lawyers, with the investigators sometimes sending drafts of reports to lawyers for editing. University lawyers are not supposed to interfere in Title IX cases, but Title IX experts say meddling is common. The university has long struggled with this issue, with records showing lawyers blatantly interfered with a Title IX investigation in 2017. The General Counsel's involvement in Title IX cases is limited to answering questions to ensure investigators follow relevant laws. But, in practice, they often play a larger role, potentially bringing hefty liabilities.
Speaker 1:The state news has reviewed hundreds of emails between 2021 and the 2024, revealing a constant collaboration between university lawyers and investigators. Ending today off with momentum has slipped from MSU football, just as Jonathan Smith's future has. Loss, loss, loss. For weeks, this word has been relevant to a program that has struggled to find any sort of success. There has been loss of games, there has been loss of recruits, and there has been loss of hope.
Speaker 1:With defeat mounting, the time to bring back the momentum has swung so distant from Michigan State football that it feels like it may never swing back. But it will swing back. It always does, eventually. Whether against number three Indiana this Saturday or sometime later in the season or maybe even years in advance, momentum will swing back. It's a matter of when, where, and under what circumstances.
Speaker 1:Thank you for joining us for The State, produced by The State News and Impact eighty nine FM. You can find us online at thestatenews.com and impact89fm.org. We'll be back next week with more.