Courtesy of Wharton Center Media.

Wharton Center finishes out their season of Broadway shows with “Catch Me if You Can.”  The show revolves around the real-life events of Frank Abagnale, who as a teenager, posed as a Pan-Am pilot and successfully secured millions through cons.

Aubrey Mae Davis, who plays Brenda in the play, sat down with Spartanedge to talk about her background and her time with the show’s national tour.

The California native has always been involved in theater and recalls that it has always been her passion.

“I’ve always said that I wanted to be an actor,” said Davis. “I don’t remember saying this, but my parents do of course. I told my mom and dad that I was going to be famous on stage in a sparkling dress. So, it’s always been what I wanted to do.”

This passion is what allowed her to land the role of Brenda.

“I saw a posting for the audition on a website that posts upcoming auditions and opportunities and knew that there was a role well that was well-suited for me, my type, my acting type,” Davis said.

“I went to an initial call back with about five other girls and then from there, we were narrowed down to a final three where we had a workshop with the creative team, the musical director, choreographer, casting director…all of the above and then the day following the workshop, we auditioned for all of the producers and backers and again, the creative team and was cast that very day,” she added.

The strength of Brenda is what attracted Davis to her character.

“She’s a very strong person, who really believes in working hard and living…with integrity,” she said. “In the show, for Frank Abagnale…Brenda’s kind of a grounding force. He’s been living this superficial life of all these different masks and when he meets Brenda, she is kind of this ground presence that brings him back and makes him realize that he wants to sett down…and have a life that’s honest and true.”

Davis noted that adapting herself to become Brenda wasn’t too much of a challenge.

“I really believe in finding myself in the character,” she said. “I am not playing somebody else, in order to portray the honest truth that this story deserves, I really have to live honestly with all these characteristics that she presents so strongly.”

“Catch Me If You Can” will be playing at Wharton Center until April 21. Tickets can be purchased through whartoncenter.com or by phone at 517-432-2000.

All Anber Yeh wanted was a furry companion to greet her after a busy day on campus, but when she discovered her apartment didn’t allow pets, she needed a backup plan.

Michael Barbour was her backup plan. Barbour, a 22-year-old acting senior at Michigan State University, was thrown into pet ownership when his close friend could no longer keep a cat in her apartment.

Being a pet-owner is not always a walk in the park. Many hidden costs and responsibilities come with the decision to adopt a cuddly creature while still studying at a college or university, but sometimes the love and friendship of a pet can outweigh the monetary constraints, according to the Small Animal Veterinary Clinic of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital on Michigan State University’s campus.

Barbour, who was an unexpected pet owner, said that his life has been incredibly enhanced by the presence of his foster cat, Lily.

Barbour rents a home located on Stoddard Avenue in East Lansing. When a friend found out that her apartment no longer allowed animals, Barbour came to the rescue. He will be the caretaker of the cat from January to August, he said.

Though he and his roommates spend roughly $40 a month on cat food and litter, “it’s good to have somebody that depends on you,” Barbour said.

Forty dollars is the sole amount spent to house the cat at the Stoddard address. Barbour described his landlord as absentee, and the cat has not been added to the lease as of now, he said.

Jeremy Whittaker, a leasing manager for DTN Management Co., deals with pets on a regular basis.

Whittaker’s office, which manages the Woodbrook Village community of apartments, allows pets in their apartments after a series of hoops have been jumped through and fees have been paid, though the pet policies are different for every office, he said.

Woodbrook Village, located at 1705 Coolidge Rd. in East Lansing, leases a bulk of its apartments to off-campus college students who attend Michigan State University or Lansing Community College, said Whittaker.

Living off-campus for most students requires personal and monetary responsibilities. Adding a pet into the mix when leasing an apartment raises those responsibilities, Whittaker said.

Woodbrook Village allows leasers the option of owning a pet. Dogs weighing under 100 pounds and cats are the standard, though fish and caged animals like birds, rabbits and gerbils are allowed as well, according to Whittaker.

“We’re generous; we just don’t want anything particularly over the top,” said Whittaker about the types of animals permitted at Woodbrook Village.

Of all the animals, cats and dogs are most common, and cats being the most popular of the two, according to Whittaker.

According to Whittaker, tenants are allowed to have a maximum of two pets, and each pet must be accounted for in the lease. Adding a pet to a resident’s lease requires a $250 non-refundable deposit and a monthly fee of $25 per pet.

The reason for the steep fees is upkeep on the apartments every year. Pets can cause property damage to the apartment; “it’s wear and tear, just normal wear and tear,” said Whittaker.

Scratch marks on the doorways, moldings and floors and stains on the carpets were a few examples he gave of the damage that the seemingly sweet critters can do.

Whittaker said that most residents underestimate the cost of having a pet when first living on their own.

If choosing to adopt an animal at a young age, there are a series of upfront health costs that the owner must pay.

The Small Animal Veterinary Clinic of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital on MSU’s campus is a popular choice for students’ pets’ health needs. These needs come with a cost.

The cost of a kitten’s first visit to the vet can cost upwards of $210 for the veterinarian’s time, vaccines and a spay or neuter. The price for dogs is even more expensive, according to the veterinary clinic. On top of monthly rental payments, an animal’s expenses quickly pile up, said Whittaker.

Before most students move into off-campus rental houses or apartments, they live first in on-campus dormitories.

The dorms at Michigan State University maintain a strict pet policy. Resident assistants, who live and are responsible for a floor of student residents, are the first to deal with breaks in policies, especially involving pets, said Kara O’Connor, a resident assistant in South Hubbard Hall in the East Neighborhood of MSU’s campus.

“An animal that lives in the dorms has to be able to survive underwater for 30 minutes. Except piranhas,” O’Connor said about MSU’s dorm pet policy.

O’Connor said she has not experienced many problems with non-aquatic animals in her hall, though she estimates that about five percent of her residents are fish owners.

O’Connor supports the idea of pet-ownership in the dorms while still following MSU’s on-campus pet policy. “It’s good because it teaches you responsibility,” she said.

Article by Whitney Bunn, School of Journalism MSU

Picture by Alyssa Warner, School of Journalism, MSU

Be Spartan Green

It’s no secret. Michigan State’s green policy goes well beyond its school colors.

From recycling in the residence halls to buying locally grown food to serve in the residence halls, Michigan State University places an emphasis on being an environmentally sustainable campus.

Jennifer Battle, Director of Campus Sustainability at Michigan State, said, “the general definition of sustainability is really thinking about how we’re using our resources now so that we’re not compromising our future generations.”

Battle said sustainability on college campuses is an extremely important value for colleges nationwide to implement.

“At this point in most peoples’ lives, it’s a really great time to either introduce or deepen their knowledge of sustainability because … the [students] who leave here, that’s where the biggest impact is going to be … in students’ actions around the world,” said Battle.

According to Battle, MSU’s philosophy about sustainability is to be a positive image for the future of environmental awareness and positively affecting the economic environment of Michigan by uses resources specifically available in Michigan.

“Being a large, Big Ten institution, we have a footprint,” Battle said.

Michigan State has a responsibility to be sustainable and engage in sustainable practices like other cities around the world, said Battle.

Carla Iansiti is the Culinary Sustainability Officer for the Residential and Hospitality Services. Her job entails employee training, food waste programs, recycling on campus and food mapping on campus.

“A lot of students don’t realize what they’re being green for,” Iansiti said.

She said being green is doing “more with less” to help preserve the Earth’s nonrenewable resources.

Students are the driving force in change on campus by asking questions, voicing concerns and contacting those in power, according to Iansiti.

As the culinary sustainability officer, Iansiti works closely with the food that is used on campus on a daily basis.

“Our big focus is to stay as local and regional as possible,” said Iansiti about the food that is available at Michigan State.

According to Iansiti, food services tries to stay in a local and regional radius when ordering food for campus use – local being 250 miles and regional being 650 miles.

MSU Culinary Services partners with 153 local and 314 regional vendors, according to MSU’s Culinary Services Website.

The Website states that these vendors include Hudsonville Ice Cream – based in Hudsonville, Michigan, Paramount Coffee – based in Lansing, Michigan and Country Fresh – a Michigan dairy brand, among many other partnerships.

“We’re trying to have smart practices when it comes to our menu, that we’re using things that maybe don’t have to travel halfway across the world to get here,” said Iansiti.

She said the university is very aware of Michigan’s financial crisis and tries to utilize sustainability in a way that positively affects its surrounding area and home state.

In addition to the priority of the locality of the food used on MSU’s campus, Iansiti also discussed Michigan State’s vast recycling program.

“What people don’t know is that we recycle everything… at the university,” said Iansiti.

MSU has one of the largest and most intensive recycling plants of any university in the nation, she said. According to Iansiti, the MSU Recycle Plant accepts all recyclables.

MSU boasts a 74,000 square foot facility that brings together MSU Recycling, MSU Surplus Store, storage and waste management, according to MSU’s recycling Website.

Because of this recycling program, Michigan State has saved 56 percent of potential landfill material by recycling it, said Iansiti.

According to MSU’s recycling Website, from July 2011 to June 2012, Michigan State’s Recycle Plant collected 7,155,053 pounds of material for recycling.

In addition, during that same year, MSU Recycling generated $61, 586 in revenue from the sale of recycled plastics, noted on the Website.

Additionally, composting projects has diverted one million pounds of compost from the landfill since the opening of it’s new facility in 2009, according to Iansiti.

MSU junior Stephen Riccardi, an environmental advocate for students on campus, is the vice president and soon-to-be president of MSU Beyond Coal, Riccardi leads a popular green organization on campus.

As vice president, Riccardi’s duties include meeting with school officials, the Board of Trustees and sitting in on university meetings to represent the student body in making sustainability decisions.

MSU Beyond Coal is a student group that focuses on “getting MSU powered by 100 percent renewable energy,” said Riccardi.

According to Riccardi, MSU currently obtains power by using only 36 percent coal. The remaining 64 percent is of power is obtained with biomass and natural gas.

MSU Beyond Coal has held press conferences, written petitions and led rallies at the steps of the administration building, according to Riccardi.

Riccardi said that collaboration between the administration, faculty, students and lawmakers is important to MSU Beyond Coal.

In 2011, the MSU Power Plant has burned 67,924 tons less coal than in 2007, according to MSU Power Plant’s Infrastructure Planning and Facility’s Website. In 2007, 230,406 tons of coal were burned; in 2011, that number lessened to 162,482 tons.

According to Riccardi, burning coal has health risks on campus.

“The emissions that come from burning coal are shown to increase the risk of asthma to people who live within the proximity of a coal plant,” said Riccardi.

About the future of sustainability on campus, Battle said, “every single person has a role in this. This is not just a fad.”

by Whitney Bunn, MSU School of Journalism

The Michigan State football team picked up verbal commitments over the last two weeks from 4-Star quarterback Chris Durkin and 3-Star offensive lineman Chase Gianacakos.

Chris Durkin (6’4 230, Ursuline HS, Youngstown, OH)

Durkin is a dual threat, 4-star quarterback from a great high school program in Ohio. He is a phenomenal athlete which shows why he has received his four-star rating from most recruiting sights. When you watch his film, you see a quarterback with great size and mobility out of the pocket. He can tuck it and run, with great acceleration and the ability to run away from defenders. He has good accuracy on short and medium throws and has the arm strength to get the ball down field. He also held an impressive list of offers from schools like California, Illinois, and Northwestern among others. It will be interesting to see how the Spartans use him in their offense when he arrives on campus for the 2014 season.

Chase Gianacakos (6’6 280, St. Charles North HS, Saint Charles, IL)

Gianacakos is a huge offensive lineman out of Illinois. He has a huge frame with the ability to still add lots of muscle to it. He has good footwork and long arms, which is good to see for an offensive tackle, which he is projected at. He plays aggressive and has a good nasty streak to him. The interesting thing about Gianacakos is he has only been playing football since his sophomore year of high school, which means he is raw but has a ginormous upside. He also held an impressive offer list, featuring schools such as Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, and Missouri.

The 2012-2013 college basketball season has come to an end. Louisville, the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, defeated Michigan 82-76.

The game was a tale of two halves. Spike Albrecht went absolutely insane in the first half, nailing threes and even getting shots down low. It was like something out of a movie, you could have never predicted it. He showed up on the game’s biggest stage, and for someone with his only other offer being from Appalachian State, he exceeded all expectations. He wasn’t the only unexpected star. Luke Hancock also rose to the occasion, hitting his fair share of threes.

The second half was all Louisville. Russ Smith and Peyton Siva carried their team to victory, like two veteran guards should. Even though Trey Burke and Michigan put up a strong fight, Louisville ultimately ended up the winners.

In a game that was a back and forth shootout with great intensity, the one thing that stood out most of all was how horrible the officiating was. The refs missed some pretty obvious calls for both teams, and this was something that was consistent throughout the entire tournament. The NCAA should be ashamed at the quality of officiating that is sent on the court. Games were ultimately decided one way or another by some terrible calls all throughout the tournament, and that is not how it should be.

While many fun competitions are held, Greek Week also holds many fundraisers for various organizations. Teams are successful in raising money for organizations like Camp Kesem, One World One Future, Relay for Life, and Wilkins Parkinsons Foundation.

The teams that won Greek Week 2013 were Team Kappa Delta in first place, Team Delta Gamma in second place, and Chi Omega in third place.

Below: pictures of MTV Night dance competition held at the Breslin Center April 3.

by Alyssa Warner

Explore the oft ignored world of cover songs! Scroll through the years to discover or revisit some of the best cover songs of the past couple decades, and to see a mini-review of each song, just hover your mouse over each entry.

Alyssa DiPalma (Whatsername) and Alex Nee (Johnny) in “American Idiot.” Photo by Turner Rouse, Jr. (Courtesy of Wharton Center Media)

By: Breanna Bishop

The national tour of Green Day’s “American Idiot” makes its way to Wharton Center next week. The Tony-nominated and Grammy-winning musical is based on Green Day’s album of the same name.

“American Idiot” tells the story of three longtime friends, searching for their meaning in life after 9-11, which leaves them wondering whether they should take ahold of their lives to search for their dreams in the city or stay in the suburbs.

The national tour is comprised of many talented actors, who bring the characters’ stories to life on stage. New Jersey native Alyssa DiPalma is one of those cast members.

DiPalma, a 2011 graduate of The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, plays the role of Whatsername. DiPalma described Whatsername as “strong” and “very compassionate.”

“I’ve actually heard her described as a freedom fighter and the mother of the revolution, which I kind of like,” said DiPalma. “She’s very, very independent, she’s very strong-willed, she’s very much a woman of the city and she’s extremely compassionate and very passionate for living her own life on her own terms.”

Whatsername is a role that is unlike any other that DiPalma has been a part of.

“All throughout school…I was cast as a very nice girl, [a] very good girl type and Whatsername is kind of a badass, more so than your typical ingenue,” she said. “She’s a little rougher, she’s a little tougher. She’s a little more strong-willed than those parts I’ve played before.”

As DiPalma was learning how to adapt to Whatsername’s personality, the character also allowed her to learn more about herself.

“Our director told us that she’s [Whatsername] kind of the woman that every girl that moves to New York City wants to end up like and I had just moved to New York like a year and a half before I got the role and that really clicked with me,” she said. “I was really able to envision the kind of person I want to be once I’m established in New York, permanently. I was kind of required to look into the future almost, as to what I wanted to end up as and that’s kind of what she is.”

DiPalma not only feels strongly for her character, but for the entire musical. She feels the story “American Idiot” tells, translates to all types of audiences.

“It’s really interesting in the sense that the show attracts Green Day fans and music fans, as well as, theater fans,” she said. I think that if people only go for the music, they’re gonna be extremely pleased and extremely happy with what they see, but they’re also gonna see that musical theater doesn’t have to be campy, cheesy, silly…it doesn’t have to have that stigma.”

“There is something to be said through music and a story and characters,” she added. “It definitely opened the eyes of a lot of music fans, as to what theater can do and the power of a musical.”

“American Idiot” will be at Wharton Center from April 9-11 at 7:30pm in Cobb Great Hall. Tickets are available by phone 517-432-2000 or through whartoncenter.com.

photo from totalprosports.com

By: Erik Sargent 

The Michigan State men’s basketball won its first two games of the NCAA tournament this weekend to advance to the Sweet 16.

Taking the floor close to home at the Palace of Auburn Hills, the Spartans defeated Valparaiso 65-54 on Thursday and Memphis 70-48 on Saturday.

Neither team proved much of a challenge for the Spartans, as they handled both games with ease. In the first game against Valparaiso, Derrick Nix turned in one of his best performances of his four year Spartan career, finishing with 23 points and a career high 15 rebounds, playing like a senior should in the tournament. Keith Appling chipped in with 15 points and Gary Harris had 10.

On Saturday vs. Memphis, the Spartan’s were led by a phenomenal game from Big Ten Freshman of the Year Gary Harris, who scored a career high 23 points on six of nine shooting including four three-pointers. Adreian Payne also put on a show, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for the double-double.

The Spartans will face the winner of Duke and Creighton in the Sweet 16.

Michigan State basketball is finally on the board for recruiting with a commitment from PF Gavin Schilling of Bishop Gorman HS in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Spartans had yet to secure a verbal commitment for the class of 2013 after putting most their recruiting efforts into star forward Jabari Parker, who ended up committing to Duke in November.

The 6-9, 225 pound Schilling had offers from other top-level programs such as Minnesota, UCLA and Villanova. Schilling will add solid depth to the Spartans frontcourt, which already features Matt Costello, Alex Gauna, Kenny Kaminski and Adreian Payne, assuming he returns for his senior year.

Watching film of Schilling, you can see he is a presence down low and that is where he does most of his work. He is a strong rebounder who can post-up and finish at the rim, and runs the court extremely well for someone of his size. His work will probably be limited as a freshman but he should see some action as a valuable player off the bench.