Do we see the world objectively? Or do our perceptions transform a black-and-white world into a subjective fantasy differently viewed by every eye on the planet? The human mind is the most complex computer on Earth.
Last Friday’s nationwide protests — one of which occurred in Lansing — of the “war on drugs” on its unofficial 40th anniversary were a bit misguided. When there’s talk about ending the war on drugs, it’s mainly focused on the legalization of recreational marijuana and the high cost of fighting a war against a noun.
Have you wondered recently about your future? Have you really wondered about your future and the future of the state, the country or the planet? Last year, we were treated to the fairly innocuous movie “2012” — dramatically presented and poorly acted — in which the prediction for the future was pretty bleak.
The worst thing you can do in presidential politics is look like a wuss. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty never received that memo and might have dealt himself an irreversible blow in last week’s GOP debate on CNN. Although it is early in the primary and he will have much time to recover, his timing could not have been any worse.
Whatever happened to the middle ground? Everything today is grouped into “for” or “against,” from traditionally polarized areas, such as politics and business, to things that usually aren’t as polarized, such as music and sports.
The summer Academic Orientation Program, or AOP, kicked off this week, and one of my good friends is working as a full-time staff member. In addition to his duties as presenter and tour guide — for which, apparently, the training truly is Spartan — he’ll be helping new freshmen navigate the online schedule builder to sign up for their classes.
What is reality? Can we hold it in the palm of our hands? Do we see the world objectively, or do our perceptions transform this black and white world into a subjective fantasy that is viewed differently by every eye on the planet?
There’s a multi-million dollar business not paying its workers what they’re worth. This business has a television channel dedicated to perpetuating sales, a sweet deal with advertisers and it pays its administrators well, yet it pays its workers next to nothing. You’re outraged and with good reason; that’s unfair to the workers.
I always have felt there was a lack of things to do in East Lansing. I don’t know whether that stems from having lived here for a decent amount of time, or if I’m not looking hard enough, but it seems the city simply lacks a strong (nonstudent/MSU) culture.
Sangat is an important concept in Sikhism. In English, it roughly translates to “company.” From an early age, a line from my first morning prayer stuck out: Japji Sahib. Those who surround themselves with sangat stay true to their values.
When I heard the city of East Lansing and MSU had selected Jonathan Safran Foer’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” for the 2011 One Book, One Community program, I was simply glad I recognized the title.
U2 has topped the charts with affected guitar riffs and spectacular, hair-raising crescendos for as long as the current student body at MSU has been able to appreciate music. In a month they will give a performance at Spartan Stadium, which raises the question, “What musicians will stand the test of time?”
Why aren’t tax increases more commonly mentioned as a possible solution to America’s debt? I understand no one wants to give up anything; we’re conditioned not to. It’s the American way of life to hold on to everything you have so tightly they have to bury you with it. But we’ve been cutting and hacking and slashing at government spending for the last six months. Has it gotten us anywhere? It doesn’t look like it.
Through its many sharing instruments, the Internet has allowed all of us to be Promethean. It only takes one person with a little know-how to buy a video or some music and then distribute the entire thing across the Internet to anyone who wants it.
Dear President Barack Obama: I was relieved to hear Navy Seals killed the man responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The world is a safer place now that the functional head of al Qaeda cannot order the mass murder of innocent people.
One weekend I was driving back to campus, and my mind started to wander. I started hearing the voices of the tea party supporters screaming about too much spending.
There’s a story happening right now. It has all the classic elements of a story Americans should love: sex, power and money. It also has buzzwords Americans have learned to fear: economic decline, bailouts and numbers with a fascinating amount of zeroes after them. Still, the odds you haven’t heard it are good.
I’ve never been great on first dates. Breaking a life into digestible bits overvalues some things and devalues others, while going into any kind of context or nuance means one has to spend too much time going into detail about something that might mean nothing at all.
If every year of college goes by this fast, I need to take more time to appreciate the little things. By the end of next week, I’ll have completed my first year as a college student, which is shocking to think about. It doesn’t seem like so long ago I had settled into my tiny dorm room (away from the comforts of home) and into the vast MSU campus.
My time at this school nearly has run its course. I am graduating (scary, I know), and as I think back on my four years here, I find myself wishing I could go back and tell my cocky little freshman self what I’ve learned, not only about college and MSU but also tips for making the rocky years from age 18 on to age 22 a little bit easier.