COMMENTARY

City attorney responds to column's accusations

On Sept. 15, I reported to the East Lansing City Council on a favorable outcome in the case of Phil Bellfy v. East Lansing Historic District Commission. I recently read a guest column published in The State News, City misrepresents outcome of lawsuit (SN 10/5), wherein Mr. Bellfy claims I misrepresented the outcome of this lawsuit in my report to council, misinterpreted the decision and simply lied to City Council in my report. That accusation is absolutely false and I would like to set the record straight.

COMMENTARY

Abbreviations killing English

Are words weighing you down? Too many syllables got you sagging? OMG dude — you, like, totes have to try out abbreves. They’re sweeping the naysh!

COMMENTARY

Net neutrality should be enforced by law

The battle over network neutrality — a battle that’s been waged in the technology world for years now — might be approaching its end.

COMMENTARY

Column misrepresents concept of free trade

I disagree with Eric Thieleman’s recent guest column, Service industry killing America (SN 10/8), on several points.

COMMENTARY

Justice must not be vengeance

If a government executes an innocent person, is it murder? It’s a question that has been troubling me for a few weeks, ever since I read about the tragic story of Cameron Todd Willingham.

COMMENTARY

Police building purchase makes little sense

The Michigan state Legislature recently approved a plan to move the Michigan State Police headquarters from its current location at 714 S. Harrison Road to a brand new facility in downtown Lansing.

COMMENTARY

MSU must overcome hurtful language

After two years of college, I did not think I still would be hearing phrases such as, “That’s so gay,” or, “This is so retarded,” on campus. I almost feel like I am back in high school, where I heard these sayings all the time.

COMMENTARY

Nobel committee jumps gun with Peace Prize

When President Barack Obama was campaigning last year, many compared him to do-gooders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela. The hope among many was that, one day, he would be listed among those great figures.

COMMENTARY

Journalists can't avoid shaping news

This just in: News is not objective. Don’t get me wrong; for the most part, news stories are objective in nature, but not the objective described by Merriam-Webster, as “expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices or interpretations.”

COMMENTARY

Student blogs would help show MSU's real image

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, student bloggers have found themselves officially sanctioned to offer their viewpoints on the school’s Web site.

COMMENTARY

Service industry killing America

Last Friday, I traveled into Wells Hall to see Michael Moore’s new “documentary,” “Capitalism: A Love Story.”

COMMENTARY

Revenue sharing cuts endanger all citizens

It seems lately, every time you open the paper, the hits keep coming. Just looking at the opinion page this week tells a tale of budget problems that seem to overwhelm us all. Today is no different.

COMMENTARY

Students deserve to know who's teaching

As we matriculate through the halls of MSU, it is almost assured that we will sit in a class taught by a teaching assistant, or TA. There is no doubt in our minds that TAs are invaluable resources. They free up time for professors to plan classes and pursue additional professional development opportunities.

COMMENTARY

Hollywood values shown in reactions

In the past week, I’ve had a strong inclination to dust off my old copy of Roman Polanski’s 1974 classic, “Chinatown.” I’ll admit it — Polanski’s recent arrest has brought the film back to my immediate attention. But the film is still great. And the more I think about it, the more I’ve felt a recent kinship with the film’s protagonist, Detective Jake Gittes, played by Jack Nicholson.

COMMENTARY

Foreign Olympics show off world

Last week, despite a buzzer shot by Chicago’s dream team — starting lineup: Michelle and Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey — the Windy City lost its bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games to Rio de Janeiro.

COMMENTARY

Budget travails show legislature's immaturity

Once again, Michigan’s politicians seem intent on proving they are the biggest threat to a balanced budget.

COMMENTARY

CIty needs to do more work to increase road safety

At the beginning of the semester, an MSU student was hit by a vehicle while riding her bicycle across the Michigan Avenue and Harrison Road intersection. The police said it was her fault.

COMMENTARY

City misrepresents outcome of lawsuit

In the article “City Center II still could move forward” (SN 9/16), the mayor of East Lansing, Vic Loomis, is quoted as saying: “The integrity of our process had been challenged … and we withstood that challenge.”

COMMENTARY

Mich. legislature needs to admit broken promise

In the past few months, no shortage of ink has been spilled concerning the elimination of the Michigan Promise Scholarship. As soon as it became clear the scholarship could be put on the state budget’s chopping block, politicians, university officials and students all entered a heated controversy about its possible termination.

COMMENTARY

MSU should share burden with LCC

I’ll get to my point quickly: College costs are out of control. Tuition, the cost of textbooks and room and board are on the rise and financial aid is falling.