COMMENTARY
Obama is charismatic, natural leader for nation
I had the pleasure of hearing Sen. Barack Obama speak last October in Detroit. Before then, I had not heard much of Sen.
COMMENTARY
Climate change remains threat despite weather
We must ignore our bitter angst of Mother Nature as we press on to our classes in this subzero weather.
COMMENTARY
Cartoon distorts current status of global warming
I would just like to say that Mike Ramsey's cartoons usually make me want to vomit. Most are distasteful and lack credibility.
COMMENTARY
Care of sidewalks must be improved by city, MSU
I am writing to The State News because I think there is a real problem right now with the ice-covered sidewalks throughout campus and East Lansing.
COMMENTARY
Definitions of human life differ in debates
Two major arguments have been presented in response to my letter. In "Both stem cell research, organ harvesting ethical" (SN 2/6), Mr. Brian Weeks' attempt to justify embryonic stem cell research by asserting that it does "no more harm to the stem cells than was already going to come to them" is harmful for two reasons.
COMMENTARY
Criminalizing homeless is wrong solution to problem
Though not particularly surprised, I am nevertheless appalled by the attitude taken toward the homeless by certain members of our community in East Lansing and MSU. The East Lansing City Council has proposed an ordinance banning homeless people from the city's parking structures.
COMMENTARY
U.S. must face consequence for own self-defeating foreign policy
If there's one thing Americans absolutely hate to hear, it's that we're responsible for our own problems. As a nation, we prefer to think of ourselves as either: A) the enlightened country trying to bring logic and progress to a world that is so hopelessly backward and left in the dark that it needs us or B) the perpetual victim of forces who "hate freedom." After all, it's a much cleaner, nicer way to look at our foreign policy. Who wants to look at the ever-increasing levels of anti-American sentiment in the Middle East and think, "Well, maybe they don't like the United States because we have a long-standing legacy of exploiting the region for our own financial gain?" For example, in Iran in the 1950s and Iraq now, the United States has a history of overthrowing governments we disagree with only to attempt to install often-brutal pro-U.S.
COMMENTARY
Column preached to choir, does not sway
Jessica Byrom's column on Christianity, "Christianity equals love, cannot be debunked in scientific terms" (SN 2/8), was heartwarming and moving, but only to people who are already Christians.
COMMENTARY
Pool facility not fitting for Big Ten competitions
While reading the article "Pool patrons unhappy with renovation plans" (SN 1/31), I was smiling and shaking my head at the same time.
COMMENTARY
Lebanese civilian deaths from attacks unmerited
It was truly heartening to read your editorial "Israeli use of cluster bombs unjust" (SN 1/29). Thank you for pointing out the "unjust" part.
COMMENTARY
Marriage defined in Bible as man, woman
I am writing in response to Ryan Dinkgrave's article "Definition of marriage should not be based on sexual orientation" (SN 2/7). Dinkgrave states that he cannot "understand and appreciate" the views of those opposed to same-sex marriage.
COMMENTARY
Group's removal was not warranted
ASMSU passed a bill Friday removing Great Issues, a group from its programming board, after an argument about a speaker the group paid to visit MSU. The speaker, Joe Carr, reportedly made anti-Semitic and other hate speech comments last year, spurring the Jewish Students Union and the Arab Cultural Society to introduce a bill calling for the removal of Great Issues from the undergraduate student government. After a meeting that wore on until after 2 a.m., ASMSU's Student Assembly removed the group for bringing "events which actually promote mistrust, hatred and even violence toward minorities on campus," the bill stated. Great Issues was a 17-member facet of the programing board.
COMMENTARY
Anti-abortion advocates labeled uncool, columnist feels detached
It's no secret that anti-abortion proponents are a spectacularly uncool group of people. Statistically speaking, outside of "American Idol" enthusiasts and motorists with "Love Wins" bumper stickers, pro-lifers rank among the most uncool segments of the American population. "Jay and Silent Bob" creator Kevin Smith can't write a movie script without satirizing a pro-life character.
COMMENTARY
Altering fight song does not celebrate tradition
Attending MSU sporting events during the past decade or so, I've had to stifle more than a few moans at the juvenile antics of the student section.
COMMENTARY
Governor calls to jumpstart economy
Gov. Jennifer Granholm delivered her State of the State address Tuesday and confirmed what most of us had already concluded: The state of the state?
COMMENTARY
Column is speculation on what happened in Boston
I am writing in response to Pete Nichols' opinion piece, "Bomb scare points out country's susceptibility for overreaction" (SN 2/5), about the city of Boston's reaction to the ill-planned marketing efforts of Turner Broadcasting System Inc. I am an MSU alumnus now living in Boston.
COMMENTARY
Candidate will be great leader for Republicans
Thank you for your coverage of Steve Japinga's campaign for chairman of the Michigan Federation of College Republicans, or MFCR, in "Preparing to run for political office" (SN 2/5). Japinga is going to be a fantastic chairman of this important group. Japinga represents a remarkable MSU story.
COMMENTARY
Christianity equals love, cannot be debunked in scientific terms
"I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me." These could quite possibly be the most powerful and most offensive words ever spoken on Earth.
COMMENTARY
More students should run for ASMSU
As we enter ASMSU's election season, the organization has 32 vacant seats — leaving every MSU college except James Madison and Social Science underrepresented in the Student and Academic assemblies.
COMMENTARY
Use of aborted fetuses for research not immoral
I am writing in response to "Definition of human life needs to be determined" (SN 1/30). The logic of the presented argument is deeply flawed.