Wednesday, December 24, 2025

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Columns

COMMENTARY

Reliability of home provides comfort

Well, it’s over. In 22 quick days my last, and final, Christmas break as a college undergraduate came to a close, with nothing more to show for it besides a few extra pounds and a slightly weakened mindset toward school I imagine will haunt me throughout most of the semester.

COMMENTARY

Daily interactions leave lasting impression

Anyone who knows me will tell you I am not, and never have been, a morning person. This is a problem that has plagued me my entire life. As far back as I can remember, up until my last week of high school, mornings in the Olsen house followed a very similar pattern when it came to the issue of waking me up.

COMMENTARY

Life lessons I learned in college

Never think you know someone based on a first impression. Within five minutes of meeting my best friend, I decided she was judgmental and that we were going to constantly butt heads. Five years later, I don’t know anyone else on the planet more like myself.

COMMENTARY

No such thing as ‘war on Christmas’

Christmas season is a wonderful time of the year for many people. When the leftovers from the Thanksgiving turkey finally have been finished, and students begin working hard to defeat the looming finals, one thing is on most people’s minds: Dec. 25.

COMMENTARY

Student discovers independence, home at MSU

Unlike many other Spartans who knew they wanted to go to MSU almost since birth, I had a different plan for my education. Like my two older sisters before me, I assumed I would go to the local community college and then later decide where I wanted to transfer.

COMMENTARY

Values key strength to Republican Party

Now that the 2012 election has come and gone, it is clear the Republican Party lost in many ways. With these defeats, both in Senate seats and, more importantly, the White House, it is easy to assume the Republican Party is reeling and that it must re-evaluate its core or suffer similar defeats in the future.

COMMENTARY

Importance of finding your roots

This past summer, I worked as a historic interpreter at Fort Mackinac on Mackinac Island. Dressed up as a soldier who would have been stationed there in the 1880s, I spent the summer shooting rifles, muskets and cannons for visitors.

COMMENTARY

My solution to national debt

With the “fiscal cliff” quickly approaching, policymakers in Washington, D.C., are rushing to reach a solution to our government’s deficit problem. It widely is accepted that raising taxes dampens economic growth, and doing so would be unwise and risk sending the economy spinning into another recession.

COMMENTARY

Mother’s influence inspires best traits

Most of us probably have heard the phrase “You’re just like your mom/dad” before. And most of us probably have experienced that moment of panic afterward — those few fear-stricken seconds we spend combing our mind for differences, for any reason we’re absolutely not like our parents.

COMMENTARY

Importance of ‘voting local’

While I’m as thrilled as anyone that political advertisements are over, we now find ourselves in the midst of another election season: holiday shopping season. But this time around, we’re voting with our dollars.

COMMENTARY

Decision to drink deeply personal

Picture this: The work week officially is over. Your last classes for the week have been completed. All homework and quizzes have been finished, papers have been revised and submitted and lecture notes have been recorded.

COMMENTARY

More debt, more problems

I am really, really terrible at saving money. I always have considered myself a giving person. I usually will take my friends out to dinner or get them lavish presents for their birthdays, even if the favor is not returned. I usually will contribute more to the tip pile than my friends when going out for dinner. And I always have had a good amount of money saved for recreational college use.