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Commentary

COMMENTARY

Expose yourself to new cultures

Mike Jenkins
October 6, 2011

Straddling the top two steps of the wood porch of my parent’s house the summer of 1963, I wondered aloud, “Am I ever going to hate any type of music as much as my parents hate rock ‘n’ roll?” The answer, nearly 50 years later, is yes and no. Yes, because at one time or another since then, I have thought I absolutely hated country music, classical music, rap, hip-hop, alternative music and grunge rock.

COMMENTARY

Red Cedar school most diverse in E.L.

I am writing to clarify some facts regarding the quote from Lindsey Little-Clayton in The State News article “Red Cedar Closure Decision Pending” (SN 9/27). Ms. Little-Clayton stated, “To imply that Red Cedar (Elementary School) is the only school with diversity is both wrong and offensive.” It is not implied that Red Cedar is the only East Lansing school with diversity.

COMMENTARY

Keeping journal offers outlet

Ron Dorr
October 4, 2011

More than the inauguration of President John Kennedy, “West Side Story,” the Freedom Riders, Roger Maris’s 61 home runs and the Peace Corps, what was most memorable about 1961 was a small but enduring decision I made at the beginning of my senior year in college.

COMMENTARY

State News lacks fair coverage

In a recent opinion published by The State News editorial board, members made the claim that there is a concerning lack of student activism at MSU. I am continually baffled at the lack of adequate coverage of activist student groups in The State News.

COMMENTARY

Students should find own faith

Reports such as “Religion & Rebellion” (SN 9/29) dismay me but are not surprising. College years are for students to find themselves, and they certainly could find engaging new aspects of their own spirituality while learning other important things, enjoying new social scenes and exploring enticing possibilities for their futures.

COMMENTARY

Political parties lack substance

Ameek Singh
October 3, 2011

The need for civility in politics has been widely discussed in the media. It is an important topic that is relevant to people across the political spectrum. But although tone and civility are important in civil discourse, I would argue both parties have failed to provide an element that is just as important to our public debates: substance specific to our times.

COMMENTARY

Death penalty ineffective, barbaric

Although Jameson Joyce makes a valid observation in his column “US Justice System Not Broken” (SN 9/29) about the overall nature of our justice system, his larger conclusion — that its benefits somehow justify the murdering of innocent human beings — completely misses the point of what “liberal live and let live,” “racism”-lambasting liberals “rail” against in their critique of capital punishment largely endorsed by our country’s legal system.

COMMENTARY

ASMSU, RHA using social media platforms well

ASMSU is working its way back into MSU’s collective consciousness by launching its new, more student-friendly website. The organization deserves credit for realizing it wasn’t doing an effective job of communicating with the students it represents and taking steps to remedy that situation. By enunciating the services it provides for students through the website, ASMSU is proving its worth to students.

COMMENTARY

Encourage peers to vote, get involved

Voting organizations wish young adults would say, “OMG, like, Obama just tweeted at me to go out and vote, and, like, I can’t wait to now.” Unfortunately, that reaction only happens in their dreams. Interest in voting doesn’t stem from any politician telling youth to go out and vote — it stems from friendships and family.

COMMENTARY

US justice system not broken

Jameson Joyce
September 28, 2011

Justice is an ideal, a subjective opinion that varies from one person to the next, a concept of moral rightness based on ethics. Asking for justice is the equivalent of asking for happiness. One person may say justice for a murderer is death — an eye for an eye — where another person might say that a murderer deserves life in prison to sit with their guilt.

COMMENTARY

Protest discriminatory state bills

Mitch Goldsmith
September 27, 2011

Usually, the ignorance exposed by the “down home values” crowd is pretty predictable, and I’m able to shrug it off as I go about my day. That is, until I learned about the newest Republican onslaught against equality and fairness, this time in the form of House bills 4770 and 4771.

COMMENTARY

Lack of collegiate activism concerning

Apathy, unfortunately, has become the status quo for millennials. It’s true this is not the 1960s and the time of Civil Rights protests, or the 1970s and protests of the Vietnam War. Those protests were social events that changed the course of our nation. That doesn’t mean there aren’t issues going on in America that should concern students to the point of peaceful protest.

COMMENTARY

Online bullying needs proactive approach

There were bullies before the Internet. But the advent of social networks and online anonymity is making it easier for students to be bullied. According to a recent poll by The Associated Press and MTV, 71 percent of participants 14-24 years old believe slurs are more common digitally than in person. Younger people don’t realize the potential ramifications of bullying on the Internet, and that might explain the rise of bullying online. In this day and age, more and more of our everyday communication is digital.