Taking five seconds to reply to a text message might not seem like a major distraction from a class, but to put it simply, it is. Laptops are an essential note-taking tool in classrooms these days, but they also tempt students to do other things that have nothing at all to do with notes or class.
The late Phil Ochs once penned a tune called, “Love Me, I’m a Liberal.” It is in the spirit of that great folk ballad that I write this column. Friends, Spartans, countrymen/countrywomen, I just have to say: It’s awesome to be a liberal.
In her Oct. 14 column, “Divisions Do Not Dictate Character” (SN 10/14), I found it interesting that Kristen Kitti associates upstanding moral character with an affiliation with an organized religion.
In the article, “Hunting not on the way out yet” (SN 10/7), staff writer Laura Fosmire writes on what she believes to be the vibrant historical and contemporary tradition of Michigan hunting.
I take issue with the repeated claim that modern e-books lack the convenience of a textbook. I admit that compared to the average person I have an advantage in this argument because I am paid to monitor developments in the e-book market intensively.
Viable solutions to a real problem are needed to offset the impact of people on the environment. We should be aware that human desire for many of the items we take for granted in the developed world negatively impacts the environment.
The Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, or MMMA, received 63 percent of the vote and the majority of the support of Michigan’s 83 counties back in 2008. Now, the East Lansing City Council is looking for resident input on how to deal with distributing medical marijuana to licensed patients.
The online news source AlterNet recently published an article by John Dolan that can best be described as an exposé on the educational infrastructure set up in Iraq since the country was invaded by the U.S. seven years ago.
Yes, MSU has a ways to go in completing our streets with bike lanes, but Fernando Fitch — quoted in “Sustainability leaders promote mass transit, bicycles” (SN 10/12) — and other motorists of like mind on campus need to know and respect the fact that bicyclists have the right, according to the state vehicle code, to ride their bikes on streets whether or not they have bike lanes.
We appreciate The State News editorial board recognizing that the ASMSU “Higher Education, Higher Priority” rally is “a step in the right direction” (“ASMSU has right idea, but needs better execution,” SN 10/8). The higher education rally is Oct. 22 at the Capitol.
According to a recent study by the American Institutes for Research, Michigan college dropouts have cost taxpayers more than $251 million during a five-year span from 2003-08, and policymakers and educators think something should be done. Most everyone would agree with that assessment.
A little more than a month has passed since the alleged sexual assault in Wonders Hall, in which Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III had said he “believed” two MSU basketball players were involved.
Throughout the latter half of September, Capitol Hill was divided more than usual. Democrats and Republicans squared off over the National Defense Authorization Act, a bill that would have ended the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” or DADT, policy.
Students at MSU are lacking in this year’s homecoming parade. All student groups, organizations and councils are encouraged to participate in float building. This year, it seems only about 10 groups have decided to join in on the tradition.
It’s probably safe to assume that most of us have been in the type of situation at one point or another where we just cannot attend class and we have a pretty good reason for missing it, too.
Last Saturday’s football game against the University of Michigan brought out intense rivalries across the state — my home was no different. Like many, I live in a “house divided” because my siblings attend U-M.
In the age of the iPad and all things digital, it only seems natural that our traditional textbooks are making their way online in the form of e-books. Open-source e-books in particular, which are free and available online for anyone to use, offer up a compelling alternative to old-school textbooks, but do they really have the potential to be a serious contender?
College is nothing if not eye-opening. As a freshman, I’ve taken in a lot of shocking scenes here at MSU during the past few weeks, but the most jarring thing by far is the coal plant my fellow students and I traipse past on a daily basis.
It certainly says a lot about the character of the University of Michigan head football coach Rich Rodriguez that he would use another “little brother” message from former U-M star Mike Hart as a key motivator during MSU/U-M rivalry week.
It’s a sad and unfortunate thing that college campuses are such a hotbed for sexual assault. The story of an alleged sexual assault that allegedly involved two MSU basketball players broke two weeks ago. The most disturbing thing about it was the number of people who told me they were not surprised.