Also in Columns

• Cell phone brings on introspection

  Updated 06/22/2009 7:12pm

  When I got my first cell phone in the fall of my freshman year of high school, it didn’t have texting and it was for ‘emergency purposes’ only. My little sister’s first phone, which she got just four years later, played music and had an LED light-up screen. That’s not to mention it had unlimited text messaging, which is a good thing considering that in one month last year she sent and received more than 14,400 text messages.

• Detroit politics is pure entertainment

  Updated 06/21/2009 8:01pm

  I know very little about the television industry. In fact, to say I know anything at all would be a lie. Give me a video camera and I’ll give you shots of people’s feet after I leave it recording. Tell me to build a stage and you might be lucky enough to get a birdhouse.

• Facebook brings new headaches

  Updated 06/17/2009 8:53pm

  Have you ever wondered how many students at MSU choose not to have a Facebook.com page? Some of these students may be considered “outcasts” for not joining in on the frenzy, but they might be smarter than we think.

• Same-sex marriage has bright future

  Updated 06/16/2009 8:07pm

  During the weekend, state Rep. Pam Byrnes, D-Lyndon Township, made news by announcing at the Michigan Pride rally at the Capitol that she intends to lead an effort to reverse Michigan’s 2004 ban on same-sex marriage. The timing seems about right as support for same-sex marriage is on the rise nationwide and several states have legalized it in recent months. First, however, we must take a look at recent milestones in this civil rights battle.

• Sex education must reflect real world

  Updated 06/15/2009 7:11pm

  I found out recently that a girl who is a junior in my high school had a baby about a month ago. I’m sad to say this wasn’t shocking news for me. I mentioned the baby to a friend who was surprised; he said he didn’t know anyone from his high school who had ever been pregnant. I realized I can’t even name them all off the top of my head, and that is somewhat disturbing.

• Society hurt by ignorant voters

  Updated 06/14/2009 8:16pm

  Coming off an election year where we had a fairly calm presidential campaign in terms of competition and a Congress that moved even further toward partisanship, we have seen a persistent trend that has plagued this country for decades.

• Adults shouldn’t forget inner child

  Updated 06/10/2009 10:03pm

  I miss the sound of more than 350 girls chanting together in unison, something I heard all summer long. In the dining hall. Before raising the flag. After the cookie line. In the auditorium. I heard it every day multiple times a day, and I wish I could hear it just one more time.

• TV host goes too far attacking parents

  Updated 06/09/2009 7:39pm

  There’s a lot of people in this world I don’t like. The list gets bigger almost every day. If I bothered to keep track, it would probably be in the thousands by now. No person — no matter how unimportant — is exempt from appearing as part of my running tally.

• How love brought economic ruination

  Updated 06/08/2009 7:33pm

  We have problems. I don’t think a single person currently living in Michigan, or even the U.S., could deny that fact. The real question, one that will probably be debated for years, is where exactly do the origins of our current problems lay?

• Obfuscation rules political world

  Updated 06/07/2009 7:05pm

  President Barack Obama has been in office for about half a year. In that time, he has ended both wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Confused? You can stop scratching your head now.

• Time of year brings thoughts of future

  Updated 06/03/2009 7:11pm

  Watching my former resident mentor deliver the commencement speech for his graduation, I couldn’t help but wonder what challenges I will face in my next two years before I become part of what he called “an unbroken line of distinguished alumni.”

• War not right place for irony

  Updated 06/02/2009 7:21pm

  There’s a group of people on campus that you might not know much about. They don’t belong to any formal association, but their presence is noticeable. Are you reading this in Espresso Royale? Do you see a lot of wool clothing? Watch out, you’re surrounded by them. In fact, if you’re drinking coffee and reading a college newspaper opinion column, you might be one yourself. They’re hipsters.

• Receipt is more than just paper

  Updated 06/01/2009 7:21pm

  Are you one of those people who get a coffee at Sparty’s, uses their credit card, and then ignores taking the receipt? Are you one of those people who buys gas with cash and then drives away without even wanting a receipt? Or are you one of those people who feels that speed is more important than waiting a second to receive that little slip of paper that is completely worthless in your life?

• Assisted suicide not real answer

  Updated 05/31/2009 7:43pm

  If you could choose the day you die, would you? A woman in Washington did just that, becoming the first person to take advantage of Washington’s assisted suicide law last week.

• Gaming intrinsic to college life

  Updated 05/26/2009 7:15pm

  Since I’ve been old enough to remember, I’ve suckled at the teat of technology. While my parents were raising my sister, I was being incubated by the warm glow of my television. But I wasn’t raised on cable TV; I was raised on Nintendo.

• Michigan blurred under media lens

  Updated 05/25/2009 7:12pm

  The past few years have obviously been bad ones for Michigan. Thousands of auto-related jobs have been and continue to be eliminated, the financial crisis poured salt in our wounds and our largest city is giving Chicago a run for its money in the competition for the most corrupt city government award.

• Democrats must avoid arrogance

  Updated 05/20/2009 9:34pm

  Two weeks ago, after 29 years as a Republican senator, Arlen Specter crossed the aisle and became a Democrat. This action alone, which gives the Democrats a potentially filibuster-free majority in the Senate, isn’t even the most interesting part. That distinction goes to the reason why.

• Katrina effects still being felt

  Updated 05/19/2009 9:50pm

  In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Ninth Ward of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. Even though it has been almost four years since one of the most damaging hurricanes in our nation’s history occurred, its after-effects will be around for many more to come.