COMMENTARY

All words fragile, important to society

The omnipresence of clichés is not only a harsh reality but a troubling communicative issue. Reliance on long-standing phrases — as engrained as the Rock of Gibraltar — saps the precision and inherent novelty from any event or idea. We should keep a watchful eye on our word choice, lest we move toward an Orwellian world of simple-minded Newspeak that flattens our thoughts, damaging the quality of thought.

COMMENTARY

Living life to the fullest worthwhile choice

Some people live for the moment, and some people live to get ahead. I try to do both simultaneously, but sometimes you have to choose.

COMMENTARY

Don't limit taste buds to chain restaurants

With BTB Burrito nestled in its tin foil-covered coffin, I was disheartened to see yet another independent East Lansing restaurant die and expected a chain eatery to inhabit its former home.

COMMENTARY

Affordable tuition necessary to future 

They tell us we are the future. They talk about the unlimited potential of our generation. They remind us that if we work hard, the boundaries of what we can accomplish are almost limitless.    Then, they cut our funding. ?For years, state governments have placed a dagger in the dreams of many young people by continually making higher education a low priority, forcing universities to raise tuition.

COMMENTARY

Those who served time deserve chance

With last week’s news that Compuware CEO Peter Karmanos, Jr. hired former Detroit mayor and recently released prisoner Kwame Kilpatrick as a salesman for his Texas-based health care software subsidiary Covisint, perhaps now is an appropriate time to look at what faces those leaving prison who don’t have billionaire friends.

COMMENTARY

Atrocities reach across the aisle

Ah, the sweet fruit of change. How marvelous it is to have a president in the White House who challenges the oppressive systems that have held down the majority for so many years. While some of my less cynical cohorts bask in ejecting the militaristic former President George W. Bush from our nation’s highest office, I seem to be left virtually alone in my disgust at what should amount to scandal in a changed, better world.

COMMENTARY

Nonbelievers have their reasons, too

There are many misconceptions regarding certain religious beliefs. Lots of people like to say that atheists are people without faith, for instance, when atheists have just as much faith as those who consider themselves religious. Also, atheism is not Satan-worshipping, as has been suggested before.

COMMENTARY

Greek system does not define student

Zack Colman

February 10, 2009

I want you to get to know me better. I love both of my parents very much. I go to them for advice about everything. My younger brother is my role model. He has Asperger’s syndrome — a mild form of autism — and has been through more emotional plight, and persevered, in his 19 years than most people will in their lifetime.

COMMENTARY

Remember leader for preachings of equality

There may be no American civil rights leader whose contributions are as underappreciated or as misunderstood as Malcolm X. As we celebrate Black History Month, it is important for us to appreciate one of our own, Lansing’s Malcolm X, and understand why much ambivalence exists about his life and message.

COMMENTARY

Representative's time in House well-spent

This Wednesday, Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, will become the longest serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives in its history.

COMMENTARY

Public overreacted to Phelps' photo

Fourteen-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps had a little publicity problem this week. A British magazine published a picture of Phelps inhaling from a marijuana smoking pipe, more commonly known as a bong.

COMMENTARY

Volunteering helps honor loss of friend

The clearest memory I have of Don Ausman is of him in a silver spandex robot costume. It was at an MSU Alternative Spring Break site leader meeting and it was close to Halloween. We were having a costume contest at the meeting, and most people didn’t dress up. But there was Don, grinning widely in all his shiny lamé glory with a big plastic fishbowl on top of his head.

COMMENTARY

Welcome week vital to students

Note to the administration: Students love a good slap to the face. So thank you, thank you so very much, for valuing our opinion about the academic calendar only after you took away Welcome Week without our consent.

COMMENTARY

Republicans made wrong decision 

President Barack Obama spent much of his first week reaching out to countries in the Muslim world, promising an outstretched hand to those who unclench their fist. What he may not have realized, however, was how many clenched fists he would find among Republicans in Congress.

COMMENTARY

Engage in stimulus package conversations

Over the past few weeks, public chatter about the so-called “stimulus package” has grown louder with each passing day and each minor development as Congress wrestles over the particulars of an enormous federal expenditure. This shouldn’t surprise anyone, as the public has plenty of reason to be paying attention.

COMMENTARY

Vegan lifestyle logical decision

People are always asking me why I’m vegan. I gladly explain the horrors of factory farming, the enslavement that comes with any animal-food production, and the health and environmental benefits. But people almost always have rebuttals. Not only are some of them easily answered by some small degree of critical thought, but I don’t even think people believe some the things they say.

COMMENTARY

Be realistic about fixing economy

Democracy has struck again: We have a new president. President Barack Obama has inherited two foreign wars and the worst economy since the Great Depression. Welcome to the office, Mr. President. Good luck on your goal to quit smoking.

COMMENTARY

Proximal student housing needed

There are signs on Grand River Avenue that direct drivers to parking in downtown East Lansing. Those signs must be misprints. Actually, maybe they’re just in the wrong place.

COMMENTARY

Drinking laws need revision

Almost every obstacle that young people face is diminished by having someone at their side guiding them along the way. From the very first step that a child takes, to when they first get behind the wheel of a car, their parents are with them guiding and coaching them along the way.

COMMENTARY

Bipartisan leaders essential for Mich.

It seems that every incoming president speaks of “cleaning up Washington,” getting rid of “politics as usual,” and “reaching across the aisle” to move the nation forward. However, these promises tend to be limited to words and speeches, not sustained effort and actions.