ASMSU passes rock climbing wall, national newspaper bills

Students hoping to bring a rock climbing wall to campus got closer to the peak Thursday when ASMSU’s Student Assembly moved to support its construction at MSU.

Matt Malkowski, a geological studies graduate student who spearheaded the initiative, said he was glad to see the project pass through ASMSU.

“It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” he said. “We’re definitely happy we’ve gotten everyone’s attention. Now we just hope it makes it through the system.”

ASMSU is MSU’s undergraduate student government.

The bill passed through Student Assembly’s policy committee in November and needed to pass through the full assembly before going to MSU officials.

The assembly passed the bill by consent — meaning there were no objections — and were very excited about the project’s potential.

“I’m actually pretty excited about it because it’s one of the first student-led grassroots initiatives that we’ve had this year,” Student Assembly Chairperson Michael Webber said. “I know we should get back more to those kind of initiatives.”

There are two proposed locations for the wall, Malkowski said. One plan calls for the creation of a wall at Demonstration Hall. The wall would be 60 feet tall and 29 feet long and cost $275,000.

A wall at IM Sports-West would be 20 feet tall and 120 feet long and cost $375,000. The wall would be built by Nicros Inc., a wall manufacturing company in Minnesota.

“I can’t imagine (the wall) would cost that much,” Malkowski said. “Those are definitely high-end estimates.”

Malkowski said he prefers the Demonstration Hall location because it can be used in more ways.

“It’s a higher wall; it will be more dynamic; it will be more conducive to a variety of skill ranges; and it will be more appealing,” he said. “Plus, it’s cheaper.”

Webber said he will take the project to administration and hopes to bring the passion that other students have for it.

The assembly also voted to bring a pilot version of the Collegiate Readership Program to campus.

The program would allow undergraduate students to have access to large-scale newspapers such as USA Today and The New York Times for about $10 a semester. Webber said students need to know about current events happening outside MSU and East Lansing.

“People who want to read local news can and still will be able to read the local news,” he said. “If you want to read national news, that would be a choice they would have.”

Eric Branoff, a James Madison College representative who introduced the bill, believes it’s hard for students to follow news while living a busy college life.

“I know it’s hard to keep up to date with school and everything, but it’s something important,” he said.

The pilot program is a free four-week trial and could get started after spring break. A cost will be determined based on consumption during the four weeks and ASMSU can decide whether or not to pay for the continuation of the program.

“I think all we’re doing is giving people a chance to look at things from a variety of perspectives,” Webber said.