Hunting organizations work to preserve environment

I am writing in response to David Switzer’s letter of opinion Funding parks, preserves best way to maintain Mich. (SN 12/4).

Advertising has no place in classroom, on exams

You’re sitting down to take a final and stressed out of your mind as you receive the test booklet. You flip it open and staring right at you is an ad announcing that this exam is brought to you by Company X.

Shut down Gitmo as soon as possible

President-elect Barack Obama vowed to close Guantanamo Bay, but some major newspapers and politicians say the situation is a lot more complicated.

Don't let stress of finals get to you

So here we are approaching the end of another semester at MSU. As I walk around campus, I can feel the stress and anxiety building. I can hear the tension in my friends’ voices and see the worry on their faces. Finals week certainly is important.

Funding parks, preserves best way to maintain Mich.

I am writing in response to the column Hunting maintains natural beauty (SN 12/2). In the column, the author appears to be arguing that hunters somehow protect animals, and hunting has a positive impact on them.

Racist reactions to Obama's election ignorant

One of the more unfortunate side effects of the election of Barack Obama as president has been a rise in prejudice hate crimes across the nation. These incidents have ranged from the expected name-calling to nooses being hung to a store in Michigan flying a flag upside down — the international signal for distress — the day after Obama was elected.

Word on the street

Recession news not a cause for serious concern

The National Bureau of Economic Research made official Monday what many have known to be a fact for a while: The U.S. is in a recession. No duh, right? What many people fail to grasp is that the nature of a recession is such that it can’t be determined that we’re in one until we’re well into one. Thus, the announcement.

Actors' strike will hit economy hard

It’s been less than a year since the end of the last major entertainment strike, but once again Hollywood is rampaging right for the edge of the cliff, ready to do its best “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” impression. Or “Thelma & Louise,” to be politically correct. This time, it’s the actors — not the writers — who have begun threatening a strike.

New financial aid fund aims to keep students at MSU

MSU is keen to the economic troubles students and their families are facing, but it must be aware that such woes have a long life span.

Love is at center of debate about LBGT rights, marriage

I was very excited for awhile that there seemed to be a lively debate about LBGT issues going on in The State News.

Using union-only contracting firms fosters discrimination

This year or early next year, the MSU Board of Trustees could consider contracting provisions that are blatantly discriminatory.

Hunting maintains natural beauty

It is undeniable that Michigan is a place of great natural beauty, and seemingly endless landscapes are something that most residents treasure.

Cabinet picks don't represent change

It seems like an eon ago that President-elect Barack Obama, that mighty vanquisher of the “same old Washington,” was merely an upstart junior senator, taking on the Clinton political juggernaut. The choice back then was clear — a vote for Obama was a vote for the future, whereas support for Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., was a vote for the past.

This year's Black Friday behavior out of control

It’s time to reconsider “Shop ‘til you drop.” On Black Friday — the day retailers often see their bottom lines climb out from the negative — shoppers often congregate outside their bastions of retail religion for hours upon hours in the late-fall cold. They leave their Thanksgiving dinners early or skip them altogether.

Set religious affiliation aside to work for more peaceful country

No one can deny that our current political system is plagued by a vicious partisanship that is threatening to tear this country apart. But what else is to be expected when subjective moral values are used as the basis for public policy?

Faas' column brave, reflects values of Christian society

In response to Dan Faas’ column, Love drives same-sex marriage fight (SN 11/24), I would like to lend my enthusiastic support to him. He is a model of Christian charity, as well as orthodoxy: a rare combination these days.

Student groups have access to more than $200,000 in taxes

Council of Racial and Ethnic Students and Council of Progressive Students groups have access to student tax dollars.

Taking away gay rights can't be justified with Biblical references

I am a Christian. I am also a homosexual. I feel the need to state these two qualifiers of my humanity before I take issue with Dan Faas’ column Love drives same-sex marriage fight (SN 11/24).

Groups promote unity, not racism

I read Alex Freitag’s column Student groups overstress race (SN 11/20) with great interest, as a lot of the bullet points remind me exactly how much work needs to be done with bridging the gap in race relations on this supposedly diverse campus.