Bikes, Winter and Campus 2

 Having a bike on MSU's campus is a big draw for many students because of the Large Size of the campus and how long it can take to get to class on the buses and walking. 

The bikes aren't a problem when there is no snow or ice on the ground but they can begin to create more hassle once the ice and rain starts to come down.

According to Tim Potter of the Transportation Office the winter months are not only hard on riders but on bikes themselves, "The winter months are quite hard on bikes mainly from the road salts getting all over the bikes and corroding them, so it's important to keep your bike well lubricated, especially the drivetrain. We recommend oiling your chain with proper chain lube every week or two in order to keep it working well and from rusting badly,” said Potter in an email.

“The other very important thing is to be very visible wherever you choose to ride to prevent getting hit by motor vehicles in the winter months, especially since the visibility for both the bicyclists and the drivers is often worse than warmer months of the year,” Potter said.

Sophomore Jenna Virant can agree with that statement, "I got hit by a car and it wasn't fun. Bikes are dangerous and I think I’ve witnessed more bike accidents than I have car accidents.”

Sophomore Alex Cook feels the same way as Virant, “I have actually been in a bike accident and I was lucky that I didn’t get hurt. I think people are more prone to getting into bike accidents when its snowing out there or icy.”

“On the MSU Campus our shared-use paths, sidewalks and roads are kept clear of snow and ice as quickly if not better than most cities so students/ faculty/ staff generally find it quite safe to ride through the winter months,” Although Potter says that the sidewalks aren’t usually that bad; Virant, Cook and sophomore Erika Lingle all have different ways of getting around campus during the winter months.

“I think a good alternative to biking in the winter is walking. As soon as it gets snowy and icy, I start to walk everywhere and I find it really relaxing and I think it is a lot safer than riding a bike,” said Lingle.

“I will probably ride my bike places the bus doesn’t easily go. I think the bus is a good alternative but I hate waiting for the bus and riding the bus when it is always crowded and so, I will probably ride my bike still,” Cook said.

Virant prefers to take the buses, “They are crowded with people, but are accident free and get you safely at your destination.”

Cook sums up the biking in the winter in a great way, “I think about riding my bike on the sidewalk like driving a car, if you don’t look behind you to change lanes you could just be running into people and it is really dangerous if you are not paying attention.”

Bikes, Winter and Campus

Today I am going to be talking about riding Bikes on MSU's campus in the winter.

There is a large portion of MSU's population who ride bikes during the school year and during the winter months is where it can get dangerous because of the snow and ice

The winter weather also affects the bikes as well as the students. MSU Bikes Enthusiast Blog has tips on their blog on how to keep a bike in good condition despite the weather.

LGBT Groups: Prism

Michigan State is teeming with a wide variety of groups catering to many different people, and a few of those groups are the LGBT groups that are around campus.

 One of these groups is PRISM which is  located in the South Complex on campus. 

Many different people have different reasons for joining ab LGBT group and sophomore Ben Lemanski is one of those people.

 "I joined an LGBT group to see who else was also part of the LGBT community. It helps to prevent the feeling of being alone, " said Lemanski via Facebook message.

Sophomore Stephanie Torres is the President of PRISM and she spoke about what it takes to keep PRISM running, "A lot of PRISM is through word of mouth, so we constantly make sure, as an executive board, to bring up our programming to other groups we are a part of and other meetings we attend," Torres said.

There is a large diverse group of people that attend the meetings, which Torres and Lemanski both enjoy.

Torres said that there has not been many male allies in the past, but there has been a surge in them this year which she is very excited about.

"There's people there from all sorts of different backgrounds and all sorts of different experiences," Lemanski said

One way to get involved with a group like PRISM is to check out their facebook page- PRISM. 

There are many activities and discussions on there, and people are always welcome to join.

LGBT Groups

On MSU's campus, there are many LGBT groups. There is one for every part of campus and all completely open for people to join.

West Circle has PRIDE, South Complex has PRISM, North Complex has RING, East Complex has SPECTRUM and Brody Complex has LIGHT. 

All of these groups have pages.
PRISM, PRIDE, RING, SPECTRUM, LIGHT

The First Time 2

Here I am blogging about the actual episode of The First Time

The episode started off with Blaine and Rachel in the auditorium practicing Tonight for the opening of West Side Story in a few days. Director Artie, Kevin McHale, tells them that they aren't thinking enough about the fact that they are in a musical about awakening, and asks them about their first times. This is basically what brings about all of the thoughts of sex and Rachel and Blaine realizing that they haven't actually done it yet.

There are many scenes between Kurt and Blaine in this episode. They have a scene in Blaine's bedroom where Kurt brings up the subject of whether or not he is too boring when it comes to sexual things and it is shown that both boys are very aware of it. Another scene with Kurt and Blaine is after Blaine goes back to his old school, Dalton, and meets Sebastian, played by Grant Gustin. Blaine and Sebastian are at the coffee shop when Kurt arrives and agrees to go to a gay bar with Sebastian and Blaine.

There is then a scene with Blaine talking to Kurt about how they should experience things while they are young which causes Kurt to bring out his bucket list. The next scene between the boys is the gay bar scene. Blaine ends up getting very drunk and tries to pressure Kurt into doing it in the back of the car, which leads to a fight between the two. The two end up making up after the first performance of West Side Story and they go back to Blaine's house where there is mutual sex.

Rachel and Finn are the other central story in this episode. Their first scene involves Finn asking Rachel to come over to his house and Rachel agrees. She is mostly thinking of how the sex can help her advance in her acting career. After Rachel goes over to Finn's, this accidentally slips out of her mouth and Finn stops. The next time Rachel and Finn are together, Finn is devastated because he has lost a football scholarship he thought he would get and the two end up having sex.

Other scenes during this episode are mostly West Side Story scenes. The musical is actually being put on for an audience. There are scenes with Santana, Naya Rivera, who plays Anita and Rachel acting out scenes which are actually interlaced with other scenes. Other characters Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), Mike (Harry Shum Jr),  Puck (Mark Salling), Brittany (Heather Morris), Rory (Damian McGinty) and Quinn (Dianna Agron) are also involved in West Side Story and are all a part of America.

One other monumental scene of the episode involves Mike's dad disowning him because he is determined to do the musical and his father does not want that.

After the sex, the episode ends with a promo for next week, pitting the two glee clubs that McKinley high school has against each other in a ruthless game of dodge ball.

Glee 1: The First Time

Tonight I am blogging about the newest Glee Episode The First Time. The First Time is actually based on what the title shows.

The promos had all been based on four of the main characters trying to decide whether or not to have sex. Those characters being Kurt and Blaine, and Rachel and Finn. These characters are portrayed by Chris Colfer, Darren Criss, Lea Michele and Cory Monteith.

The episode appears to just be solely focused on the fact that they are trying to decide whether or not to do the actual deed or to hold off for another time, and it is all thrown around the Glee Club putting on a production of West Side Story with Blaine and Rachel as the main characters, Tony and Maria.