I am patiently waiting for the floodgates of marijuana prohibition to burst open so that the fallacies of the entire endeavor can be laid to rest. How many resources, how many lives, how many people flooding our criminal justice system will it take to make it clear that prohibition is a failed policy?
Football wristband system inefficient, time consuming
Last year 830,000 people were arrested in the U.S. for marijuana-related incidents, the highest number in the country’s history. Of those arrested, 90 percent were for possession. Most of the people arrested in East Lansing are between the ages of 17 and 25.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Actually, a picture has capabilities extending past that description — as I put on my flip-flops before class this week, I found myself haunted by one image in particular.
As the media goes, so does the American populace. As Darfur seemed to be getting better with the U.N. Peacekeepers and the cease fire, the media and the people seemed to hop to the next story of the day, be it O.J. Simpson or Britney Spears.
Every time a City Council election rolls around, there is a lot of talk in the pages of The State News about how to make sure students are represented in our city government and every election comes and goes without electing a councilmember with our interests in mind. It is not enough to pick a candidate who cares about student issues. Students need to get behind an electable candidate with credibility.
MSU put a new color-coded wristband system in place to help decongest the student section at football games. And people are already complaining about it after one game.
In Changing the trend (SN 10/2), the writer references the student exodus to out-of-state jobs. To combat this trend, the city of East Lansing has shown the foresight to actively pursue the redevelopment of many residential and commercial projects. Demographics are changing and to remain a viable city, East Lansing must view itself competitively with cities like Chicago and Seattle – both are urban hot spots attracting young professionals.
Did you know that bar and restaurant employees are 50 percent more likely than the general population to develop lung cancer, largely because many of them are exposed to secondhand smoke on the job?
I never understood why so many students strongly disliked the East Lansing Police Department until I saw two cops giving out jaywalking tickets at 11:30 a.m. at an intersection of Bogue Street on Wednesday.
I am a Michigan resident who supports House Bill 4163, a bill that creates statewide smoke-free work environments.
The recent decade has been an era of almost unrestricted capitalism, with the added bonus of a government sometimes working directly with corporations to cheat citizens. So it is natural to see people disgusted with the current economic situation and gazing at Europe and its attractive government-sponsored programs.
For many students looking to stay in Michigan after graduation, it won’t be easy — the state is losing jobs and money and companies are fleeing. Michigan needs to retain graduates to inundate the state with young, skilled workers, but if the jobs aren’t available, the possibility of that remains unlikely.
If you’ve read some of my previous columns in this paper, you may have guessed that I am not the biggest fan of George W. Bush. I could list the reasons for this, but you are likely quite familiar with them, as two-thirds of the country already recognizes that he’s doing an awful job. Of course, the frightening part of that is that somewhere around 30 percent of the country thinks he is doing a good job, but that’s another story.
There are only days remaining for MSU students to register to vote here in East Lansing for the City Council election on Nov. 6. The deadline to register is Oct. 9. Why should you register to vote in East Lansing? Because the decisions made by the City Council affect MSU students every day. We are part of this community and we need council members who will represent us.
After school officials at Eastern Michigan University allegedly attempted to cover up the on-campus rape and murder of a 22-year-old student, the university has started sending out campus crime reports which details the time, location and type of campus police calls.
I do not believe that eliminating unions will save Michigan. Liz Kersjes argues that the brief UAW strike last week benefited the UAW workers, but “in the end … they severely undercut the company paying them at an eventual disadvantage to themselves.” (Eliminate unions to save Michigan, SN 10/1).
I applaud the efforts of the East Lansing and MSU communities to make it easier for cyclists to get around. Having more bike paths is a big plus, especially when the sidewalks are jam-packed with students bustling to and from classes.
As part of the city of East Lansing’s centennial celebration, a discussion was held on “The Future of a University Community.” One of the panelists, Lou Glazer, the president of Michigan Future Inc. talked about the pivotal role that preparing, retaining and attaching young talent to a community plays in its success.
The basics behind the union, the organization of workers to fight for better conditions, will always be valid under capitalism. Businesses are driven by profits and they will try everything to maximize them, including, if possible, stepping further on workers.