Sunday, December 21, 2025

Take a peek behind the curtain and test drive the NEW StateNews.com today!

Commentary

COMMENTARY

Shirvell's actions reflect poorly on state of Michigan

I recently was captivated by an interview Anderson Cooper conducted on CNN with Michigan’s Asst. Attorney General Andrew Shirvell. Shirvell, a University of Michigan alumnus, runs a blog devoted to smearing Chris Armstrong, current president of the University of Michigan’s student assembly, because he is gay, and accuses Armstrong of advocating a “deeply radical agenda” at U-M.

COMMENTARY

Group exercise is good for regimen

After I graduated from high school and began college, I realized my day-to-day routine would change dramatically. First of all, I cannot believe I ever went to class everyday at 8 a.m. Second, I realized I no longer had exercise built right into my daily schedule like I did in high school. I had to figure out on my own how I was going to make exercise part of my daily routine.

COMMENTARY

Use of technology positive move for justice system

Overcrowding in Ingham County jails has pushed officials to adopt a more financially and socially friendly alternative to serving traditional jail time. The alternative is rooted in restricting movement without incarceration using tether bands.

COMMENTARY

Advice not all about end result

I found some of my favorite kind of advice in The New York Times today. A bunch of graduate students from across the country banded together to give underclassmen tips on what they should do during their undergraduate years.

COMMENTARY

Out-of-state students should be short-term goal

With more than 46,000 student spots to fill in the Spartan pie each academic year, MSU has taken to harvesting fruit outside of state lines. In last year’s freshman class, 20.9 percent of MSU students were not from Michigan — the highest percentage this decade.

COMMENTARY

On rights and responsibilities

A short while ago, I listened to MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon speak of the things we all need to think about as members of the university community. She focused on something we habitually put on the back burner — a burner that in many cases has been turned off. This focus was on a very simple word: responsibility.

COMMENTARY

Graduate students need a place to congregate

Even though some might be slightly older and have different goals than undergraduates, graduate students still are part of the student body here at MSU. In other words, they still need the kinds of programs and spaces the university provides for underclassmen.

COMMENTARY

It is time for new leaders to step up

There is a proportional relationship between how lame politicians are and how lame the discussion becomes on cable television. This mathematical truth is most evident in a midterm election. Along with unrealistic promises and yelling comes a media culture that encourages bad behavior.

COMMENTARY

Ban on K2 is a politically expedient overreaction

State Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade, said it all with a simple and single “nay” concerning the ban on the synthetic cannabinoid K2 last Thursday. Amash hit the nail on the head when he wrote in his Facebook status that despite health concerns, using the substance constituted a victimless crime and that banning it should not be the government’s priority.

COMMENTARY

MSU responds well to flawed federal policy

As things go these days, everyone is demanding accountability from the government. The ratio of money being spent to actual results isn’t exactly in a place where people feel they have gotten a good return on their tax dollars.

COMMENTARY

Suppression of free speech strikes at America's roots

No speech, especially speech deemed offensive, should be silenced through coercion or intimidation. Its message must be allowed to succeed or fail based on its own merits. If that kind of speech legally can be silenced, then there is risk of a universal silence.

COMMENTARY

If you place it, they will smoke

What does 25 feet mean? Is it how far we’ve walked to the cafeteria before remembering the ID left behind in our room? Is it the distance when we realize we’re higher off the ground than we originally thought? Or is it the length of the mythical sea creature haunting our dreams?

COMMENTARY

Michigan deserves a well-rounded governor

Ann Arbor businessman and Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder seems to have charmed potential voters with his outsider appeal. In the latest poll released by Lansing-based polling firm EPIC-MRA, Snyder has 53 percent of the vote and the Democratic candidate, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, has 29 percent. The reasons for the separation stemmed in part from Snyder’s business experience.

COMMENTARY

We need to show more pride at MSU

A few days ago, I sat with a fairly large number of volunteers for the kickoff of the fall MSU Community Charitable Campaign, or MSUCCC, a campaign that raises almost $600,000 each year for primarily local charities and civic groups close to MSU’s campus.