Wednesday, December 25, 2024

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

Commentary

COMMENTARY

Making Mich smokefree a matter of health

As a state representative for the Lansing area, I have to disagree with the position The State News editorial board took in its editorial Smoking ban should be decided by restaurants (SN 2/16). The editorial board missed the main point of smoke-free legislation: Keeping workers healthy, plain and simple.

COMMENTARY

Wasteful spending builds bridges to nowhere for MSU

MSU employee Charlotte Wilks knows firsthand that railroad crossings can be dangerous. She once saw a fellow employee climb between the cars of a stopped train near her laboratory in the Life Sciences Building. The employee’s daughter had gotten sick while in day care on the other side of the tracks.

COMMENTARY

Pay cuts necessary for elected officials

Everyone across the country is telling Michigan the same thing: Sacrifices must be made. Michigan has been portrayed as Uncle Sam’s disobedient, immature, thumb-sucking nephew. The other 49 nephews and nieces are stubborn, going through the growing pains of a degenerating superpower.

COMMENTARY

Taking year off not financially beneficial

Taking a year off before enrolling in college can be viewed as either a significant challenge or an opportunity depending on how the student plans to spend the year. However, a recent proposal by President Barack Obama could give students added incentive to wait.

COMMENTARY

Choices on St. Patrick's Day up to student

As students go green for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, they shouldn’t forget to go to class today or Wednesday, either. It is every student’s right to do what they please with their money — and let’s be honest, there is a tremendous amount of deals today at bars across East Lansing.

COMMENTARY

Cell research debates miss out on facts

Political discourse in our country, sadly, is often no better than what one would find in middle school children, where the shortage is not in the quantity of opinions, but in concrete facts on which to base those opinions. It is far easier for politicians to resort to demagoguery and rhetoric than to actually educate themselves on the issues they face.

COMMENTARY

Cure for diabetes finally in sight

Almost two years ago, I wrote a column in The State News about a few days I spent in Washington, D.C., with 150 kids and teens with type 1 diabetes who were advocating for federal funding for a cure.

COMMENTARY

Scholarship changes should consider all classes

The U.S. middle class has felt the crunch of college for many years. With middle class students being too well off for federal financial aid but without the ability to pay for college without taking out loans, more assistance has been needed for a while — but any actions to improve the middle class situation must take the rest of society into account.

COMMENTARY

Now is the time to expand, not disband music therapy program

Daily reports describe the struggle to improve our nation’s health care while controlling its cost. Among the trillions to be spent, surely there is room for a cost-effective form of alternative medicine that has been scientifically established to aid patients’ physical as well as mental health.

COMMENTARY

Keep inhumane circus out of Breslin Center

Institutions can seem like scary things. When we think of an institution we think of big, immovable structures that exist whether we like it or not. But despite the aura we typically get from the faceless concepts of university and policy, there are real people behind them, and we can and should have the power to influence them.