COMMENTARY

Responsible environment key to safely enjoying alcohol

In response to Anupama Sridaran’s letter Students need to understand consequences of drinking (SN 4/23), Anupama is correct in stating there is a large percentage of underage drinking on college campuses throughout the United States. Anupama is also correct in stating that in some cases, the use and abuse of alcohol can be a detriment to the studies and career paths of some students.

COMMENTARY

Students who live off campus can participate in recycling

Students moving out of East Lansing’s neighborhoods for the summer are encouraged to participate in the off-campus expansion of MSU’s Pack Up, Pitch In recycling event. The event will offer off-campus MSU students with an opportunity to be MSU green while keeping the East Lansing community clean during spring move-out.

COMMENTARY

Use summer, rest of college to find self

Walking across the stage at my high school graduation, I thought I knew exactly who I was. I left high school with the notion I was going to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder, enter the hard-hitting world of print journalism and focus on my career. I was dead set on the direction of my future.

COMMENTARY

Remain calm, become educated about swine flu

There is an episode of the TV show “Scrubs” that everybody should watch during this time of swine flu. In the episode, the media report on a pandemic outbreak of a virus that is known to cause vomiting and diarrhea.

COMMENTARY

Obama must bring real change by ending brutal policies of past

It has been argued by leading scholars such as Noam Chomsky that our efforts in the War on Terror have made us less safe. American foreign policy as of late has exempted itself from international law while sanctioning those who are deemed as threats, and it is this kind of behavior that fuels the flame that is extremist anti-American sentiment.

COMMENTARY

Dialogue needed to solve conflicts

I had a million things on my to-do list when I was 10 years old, and I have been able to accomplish hardly any of those goals. Granted, my mind was more imaginative and far less realistic than now. So no, I never became or will become a professional baseball player; I never will have a pet dinosaur; nor will I ever be 7 feet tall (but I only wanted to try that out for a day anyway).

COMMENTARY

Graduates should consider service opportunities

By May 11, MSU graduating seniors will enter the real world. Those with a bachelor’s degree, and maybe even a master’s, might find it difficult to land a job during these unusually tough economic times, no matter how qualified or eager they might be.

COMMENTARY

Situation in Pakistan must be addressed

It is the country where my parents were born. It is a country that shares a rich history of ancient civilizations with its neighbors, including India. But it is one of the most troubled countries in the world.

COMMENTARY

Ending loans from private lenders effective

Imagine if college were more affordable for 8.5 million students nationwide. Now it can be, at least if what President Barack Obama is proposing makes its way through Congress.

COMMENTARY

Common arguments against gay marriage need to be dispelled

Since the 2009 Miss USA pageant, there has been a surge of pundits jumping at the chance to subjugate gays. Due to this egregious attempt to bastardize, and subsequently isolate, the gay community, it is incumbent upon gays to address several topics. Homosexuals in America, eager to quell the Christian radicalism masked as conservatism, need first to perform a self-evaluation.

COMMENTARY

Word on the Street 04/26/09

Jessica Lipowski

April 26, 2009

“No, actually. I was expecting to be in a lot of debt because it was for school. But I have direct deposit for some of my loans.

COMMENTARY

Columbine revives questions, lessons

Last week marked the 10-year anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre in Littleton, Colo. People across the country marked the solemn date in different ways and survivors remembered the peers they lost on April 20, 1999.

COMMENTARY

Credit card legislation helpful to consumers

These days, it seems as if everyone tries to get “free” money. Credit cards are easier and easier to obtain, and students remain extremely susceptible to credit card offers and the accompanying debt.

COMMENTARY

Column about feminism spoke to goals of MSU gender center

We were delighted to read Kate Jacobson’s column Women’s rights a worldwide issue (SN 4/21). It was an insightful and passionate account of the situation for some Afghani women struggling to stay free of violence in their streets and homes. We also appreciated Jacobson’s reflection on the relationship between our rights at home and the rights of women in other countries. Too often citizens in the U.S.

COMMENTARY

Smoking regulations need to be further enforced at MSU

Before leaving MSU’s main campus for my clinical rotations as a third year medical student, I feel compelled to express an ongoing problem.

COMMENTARY

Every person can help in recycling effort

“R-E-C-Y-C-L-E, recycle! C-O-N-S-E-R-V-E, conserve! Don’t you P-O-L-L-U-T-E pollute the water, sky or sea, or else we’re gonna get, what we deserve!” Do you remember that song from the Nickelodeon TV show “Rocko’s Modern Life?”

COMMENTARY

Book costs should be seen before classes begin

It’s something everyone has thought or felt at one point in their college career — they’re being robbed blind by buying books.

COMMENTARY

Students need to understand consequences of drinking

More than 2.1 million students between the ages of 18 and 21 drove under the influence of alcohol in 2006. College binge drinking continues to dominate college campuses in the U.S. and claims many lives.

COMMENTARY

Treat E.L. homeless with more respect

A few months ago, I witnessed a homeless man being escorted out from under my apartment complex staircase by police. Drifting in and out of consciousness and struggling to stand up unassisted, the bearded traveler denied any and all accusations of drunkenness as the two officers apprehended him with blue latex gloves gripped around their hands.

COMMENTARY

Deporting Mich. prisoners illogical choice

Justice is a dish best served in another country. That’s the message state Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith, D-Salem, is sending with her proposed legislation to deport foreign inmates after they serve at least half of their minimum sentence in Michigan. Smith’s logic, however, does nobody justice.