Michigan State’s Independent Voice
MSU STUDENT MASTERS RUBIK’S CUBE, LOOKS TO Spin scooters keep NEW POSSIBILITIES AFTER NATIONAL TITLE WIN ending up in the Red NEWS
By Audrey Richardson arichardson@statenews.com A rainbow of colors blur and fingers fly as competitors race to solve the mystical puzzle of the Rubik’s Cube. For t y-t h ree qui nt i l l ion combi nat ions ma ke up t he intricacies of a Rubik’s Cube. That’s 43 followed by 18 zeros, or, in other words, a lot. One MSU st udent has mastered it. Experience architecture senior Owen Widdis has been competing in cubing events since he was in seventh grade, after being me sme r i zed by YouTub e r s ’ abilities to solve quickly. “I would binge videos of other cubers that were better than I was and would be marveled with how fast they were,” he said. Since then, he’s memorized “around 300” algorithms to solve t he c ube. T hat ’s not quite 43 quintillion, but it was enough to secure him a national title last summer. At the Cubing USA Nationals, where 1,028 people of all ages competed, Widdis described t he event as a mi x t ure of “excitement and a high-pressure environment.” In preparation, Widdis spent hours twisting and turning, but most of his time was focused on studying the cube. Widdis specializes in Fewest
Colors blur as experience architecture senior Owen Widdis, 22, scrambles his Rubik’s cube in his home in East Lansing on Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024. Widdis reckons he can scramble the cube at 13 or 14 turns per second, or TPS. Photo by Audrey Richardson.
Moves Challenge (FMC), an event t hat involves solv ing the cube in as few moves as possible. In competitions, they take an average of three one-hour attempts. And in 2023, Widdis took the national title with an average score of 22 — the world record being a mere two moves away. There are 17 events sanctioned by the World Cubing Association. Events range from a 2x2 cube all the way up to the 7x7 cube. They also included blindfolded events, a 12-sided cube called
the Megaminx and a clocklike gadget with four gears and 18 dials called the clock. Not only does FMC require the most time out of any event, but it involves a deeper understanding of the cube itself. “ F M C i s v e r y d i f f e r e nt compared to most of the other events,” mechanical engineering preference freshman Andrew Moy said. “Especially being world class at it, I think that’s really impressive.” Moy competed at nationals and met Widdis online through
a mutual friend. They both believe they are they only two competitive cubers on campus. Moy specializes in speed solving, ranging from the 3x3 to the 5x5 event. Unlike with speed solves, where you are using a memorized algorithms and pattern recognition to solve, FMC requires intuition, he said. “Compared to Owen, I probably have no idea what I’m doing,” Moy said. The intellectual approach to FMC becomes an exercise in trying to develop new algorithms. The solver almost has to personify the cube and explore the many facet s a nd comple x it ies of solving that could lead them in never ending, or 43 quintillion, directions. Along with the 17 events, the cubing world offers an immense amount of cubing specific lingo. “There’s so much jargon, and it can be overwhelming at times,” Widdis said. “Something I’ve noticed in cubing is they love their acronyms so much.” Each algorithm has its own nick name. From T perm to half turn reduction, or HTR, to sledgehammer, the endless terms have a special place in cubers’ minds, ready to dish out in competition or among peers in conversation.
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Cedar, but they’re staying on campus
While East Lansing’s city council voted to remove the scooters, that doesn’t apply to MSU’s campus. PAGE 4
LIFE
Renaissance Sword Society revives martial arts on campus
An MSU student founded a group in hopes of creating new fencers to join the Historical European Martial Arts scene. PAGE 5
LIFE
Section leaders say goodbye to the Izzone Now that MSU basketball season has ended, the senior student section leaders reflect on the season and memories of being lifelong Spartan fans. PAGE 7
Rocky third period leads to MSU hockey loss to Michigan By Madilynn Warden mwarden@statenews.com
Senior forward Jeremy Davidson and junior forward Red Savage attempt to stop the puck from progressing back into the defensive end on March 31, 2024. Photo by Emily Martin.
T U ES DAY, A P RI L 2, 2024
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In a fight to the finish, the Michigan State men’s hockey team made a historic season run that it had been hunting for the past two seasons under head coach Adam Nightingale. Making it as far as they had, the Spartans’ season had to come to a stop somewhere, and that would be against Michigan State’s in-state rival, the University of Michigan, where the Spartans were taken down in Maryland Heights, Missouri with a final
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score of 5-2. The Spartans came out on a hot start as they led 1-0 after the first period, playing dominant defense and helping freshman netminder Trey Augustine keep pucks from getting behind him. But, the third and final period was when MSU ran out of momentum and couldn’t come back, ultimately ending its season. Michigan scored four goals in the third period to eventually take the victory, scoring more goals than there were from either team in the first two
periods combined. “I’ll be the first one to tell you, I didn’t make a good enough play on either of those goals, so I take responsibility for those,” sophomore defenseman Matt Basgall said. “It was a tough read for me on the first one ... I’m cutting down the middle, I slowed my feet down and gave him the wide lane and he took it. It’s a team game, but I think I can do better on those plays.”
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