“It often felt like we were operating in a vice,” Simon said of state support in recent years.

But Bridges, an elementary education freshman, said MSU has been short-handed by the state. Granholm proposed a 3.2 percent increase to the University of Michigan and Wayne State University and a 2.7 percent increase for MSU.

Granholm ignored the university in her own backyard, Bridges said.

“It grinds on me because we’re less than a five-mile radius from downtown Lansing. That pisses me off that we’re not getting our fair share,” he said.

“(A 2.7 percent increase) is a great start, but it has to be a hell of a lot more.”

While the state funding issue stuck out the most for Bridges, Simon’s address stressed the importance of the university’s involvement in several projects underway, including MSU in Dubai and the MSU College of Human Medicine in Grand Rapids.

Jasmine Ford, a human resource management sophomore, said learning about MSU’s involvement in those projects was the reason she attended the address with Bridges, who is a friend.

“We wanted to be more informed about what’s going on with the university and on the campus,” Ford said.

Simon said Dubai is a region of vital importance to MSU.

“Our presence in Dubai is a reflection of our world-grant mission to extend MSU’s knowledge and innovation around the globe,” she said. East Lansing City Councilmember Nathan Triplett, who attended the address, said MSU’s presence in Dubai is impressive.

“When the president talks about being the first world-grant institution, she’s taking steps to see it’s more than just a slogan,” he said.

Most of Simon’s speech focused on executing MSU’s current projects, which she said gained momentum despite the state’s economic crisis.

“If we look at what we accomplished last year in a most difficult economic climate, it’s hard not to be impressed,” she said.

Although her speech remained positive that MSU will continue its momentum, Simon said the university likely will have to operate against similar challenges in the future.

“I wish I could stand here today and tell you that there are better times ahead and that 2008 will be different, but you all know that is not the case,” she said.