COMMENTARY

Same-sex marriage opponents wrong

Ellen Mitchell

February 18, 2010

Just ask any of the students at MSU what they think about equal access for gays and lesbians to jobs, housing, government benefits and more. They’ll most likely tell you they’re in favor of them. And why not? College students seem to be more understanding and open to change than generations before them. Ask their opinion on same-sex marriage, however, and that’s where opinions radically get divided.

COMMENTARY

Apartment demolition should move forward responsibly

A new project — whether it be a new apartment or some other building — should have something with character, not just a parking lot. The stretch of land is one of the first things drivers see coming in from Trowbridge Road, so whatever is built there should have a certain amount of “curb appeal,” unlike what the university is attempting to do with the less-than-beautiful Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum.

COMMENTARY

Winter should be season of reflection

I plan to leave Michigan for a warmer, sunnier state after college. The snow just has lost its appeal. As people get older, the excitement about snow days disappears, and the inconveniences and increased driving hazards brought on by snow are enough to ruin plans. Winter does have one very strong element not many people recognize when arguing about its positives and negatives.

COMMENTARY

Students should not be suspended for fireworks prank

Last November, four MSU students allegedly threw a firework into MSU student Eric Flatley’s Grove Street yard as part of a prank.As if they didn’t have enough to worry about, two of the students have been suspended, according to reports.

COMMENTARY

Word on the street 2/17/10

Students give their opinions on Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s proposal to expand the sales tax to include consumer services.

COMMENTARY

Use college years to mature, grow up

Growing up is something most people can’t wait to do when they’re youngsters. Now, as we’re well in the midst of growing older, many of us students can’t believe life almost is in full swing.

COMMENTARY

ASMSU should have informed students of Dubai trip

Student politicians jet setting across the globe without telling anybody can make people begin to wonder where exactly their tax dollars are going.

COMMENTARY

Energy crisis should trump climate change

Proving that climate change is false does nothing but allow one political party to point fingers at the other to sway votes. This polarization of public policy doesn’t help our country move forward from use of fossil fuels, but rather holds us back. Instead, we should focus on changing our policies and practices.

COMMENTARY

Tax expansion necessary to keep Mich. afloat

As the Michigan economy continues to sink deeper into the sea of financial instability, the state must turn to radical means to right the ship. Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s new service tax proposal is one of the changes — and a correct one.

COMMENTARY

Violence against women must be fought all over

Domestic abuse and violence against women is an affliction that women of all religions, be it Islam or Christianity, face in all its forms.

COMMENTARY

Consensus on climate change ignored to feed controversy

The consensus of climate change experts is reflected in their endorsement of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

COMMENTARY

V-day should be met with optimism

Rob Couch

February 14, 2010

No matter which category you belong to, Valentine’s Day should have been a meaningful day of celebration. What it shouldn’t have been, however, is what so many of us choose to make it: a superficial 24-hour period with forced restaurant reservations, cheesy cards purchased at CVS, hoping you put enough effort into the day to make your better half somewhat satisfied with your performance as a romantic.

COMMENTARY

Granholm reviving a very different 'Promise'

The governor wants a way to stop the brain drain, but this isn’t the best way to clog the pipe. Michigan needs a program that will help young people pay for college as they go along, not a $4,000 prize for weathering the storm of Michigan’s economic climate.

COMMENTARY

Moving beyond coal within reach

It’s easy to say that converting the coal plant is not feasible at this time due to the poor economy, but how long will we wait? MSU has a responsibility to its students and the community to provide a healthy living environment, and times of economic difficulty should not halt the potential progress toward a more clean and green campus.

COMMENTARY

Safe sex, abstinence education both useful

With the popular MTV series “16 and Pregnant” coming back for a second season this month, 10 new teens will be examples of the unintended consequences of teen sex. Sadly, this reality isn’t just confined to television.

COMMENTARY

E.L.'s handling of budget deficit commendable

Families across the United States are struggling to find ways to live within their means, and the city of East Lansing is no different.

COMMENTARY

MSU basketball team requires support of entire Breslin crowd

Section 106, row 2, seat 3. That was the number on my now-crinkled ticket to the MSU vs. Purdue basketball game. I was so close to the Spartans’ bench I could see the studs on Travis Walton’s Final Four ring and count the number of gray hairs head coach Tom Izzo got from the beating his team received at home.

COMMENTARY

Our culture must combat injustices

When I was 16, like many 16-year-old girls throughout history, the only thing I ever wanted to do — besides get my homework done, pass my driver’s test and hang out with friends — was talk to boys. Something I find to be a natural part of growing up was not tolerated for Medine Memi, a 16-year-old girl from Kahta, a city in Southeastern Turkey.

COMMENTARY

MSU should allow students to attend jury duty

Go to class and break the law, or skip class and risk failing? That’s the worry of some students who are summoned for jury duty during the semester. According to current MSU College of Law attendance policies, a student cannot miss more than two weeks of class, regardless of the excuse, including a legal obligation such as jury duty. So if a student was summoned for jury duty and the court case lasted more than two weeks, that student would not receive credit for an entire semester of work.

COMMENTARY

Journalists, scientists should cover climate science truthfully

The goal of science is to gain enough understanding of causal interconnections so that we can make deliberate changes in those connections to produce desirable outcomes for our lives. Climate science, however, has evidenced a toxic quality in the climategate and glaciergate scandals that have undermined its credibility and distorted the journalism reporting climate change.