Democratic Sen. Barack Obama is finally starting to make a move toward running in the upcoming 2008 presidential race — and it's about time. For some time now, Obama has been evasive when asked if he would run in '08, laughing at the question or dodging it altogether.
While reading "Affirmative action discriminates, not Proposal 2; move on already" (SN 11/21), I was shocked.
In Pagosa Springs, Colo., last week, a couple was told by their neighborhood homeowners association that they must take down a four-foot wreath shaped like a peace symbol and pay a penalty of $25. The official reason behind the decision?
I can no longer bottle up my disdain for Kyle Bristow or the "Young Americans for Freedom." This unpatriotic group claims to promote freedom — heck, it's in their title — but every time I read "gay," "transgender" or "immigrants," sure enough, Bristow and these "Young Americans" are soon to follow in protest. They endorse such activities as the infamous "Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day" and now protest a Lansing ordinance that recognizes gender and sexual identity as nondiscriminatory clauses, as discussed in "Lansing ordinance prompts protest" (SN 11/21). Take a quote from Bristow himself from the aforementioned article: "The whole part where (transsexuals) are identified as a special group and deserve special privileges is just wrong.
Jessica Byrom is sick and tired of hearing about Proposal 2, evidenced in "Affirmative action discriminates, not Proposal 2; move on already" (SN 11/21). I would ask Byrom to venture out of her lily-white world and imagine, just for a moment, how it might feel to be sick and tired every day. She wonders why she can't have her own organization for white students.
'Tis the season for bickering. Every year, without fail, the holidays dutifully come back.
After a wildly embarrassing season, which lead to the further embarrassing public humiliation and firing of former head coach John L.
This letter is in response to Kristin Lucille Robinson's letter, "Byrom might not be racist but is certainly ignorant" (SN 11/22), which calls Jessica Byrom ignorant.
Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can never hurt you. Well, actually, words can destroy your career and your reputation.
I find it particularly funny when people use the card "there's a black group; why can't there be a white group?" Many of the Black Caucuses have been removing the "black" in the title and have been named their residence hall's Caucus. Culturas de las Razas Unidas is one of the most racially unbiased groups on campus.
No form of power should be abused, and that goes for Taser guns, too. According to a recent State News article, East Lansing police officers have used Taser guns an average of twice each month this past year.
"Pass the turkey, please," my voice carried anything other than holiday bliss as I watched my older brother smear gravy on his face for the pure pleasure of watching me bite my tongue. I sat there, staring straight ahead and fighting the little voice urging me to revert back to my 12-year-old conflict resolution plan: the karate chop. I took a breath while assuring myself it had never really resulted in much more than my body in some variation of the human pretzel and giving my brother the satisfaction that he had pushed the right button. Leave it to the holidays to thrust us back into the family setting where we all learned how to deal with conflict and forgiveness in the first place. Here I am, age 21, and still hashing it out with my 24-year-old brother, confirming that conflict isn't something one can outgrow; rather, it's a human problem. Most of us can dig up some family grudge, but often we don't stop to think about implications of these daily conflicts, especially when we drag them out for weeks, months and even years. A study by the University of Michigan showed that in those 45 and older, forgiveness was linked to better mental and physical health.
Regarding the State News article by Kristi Jourdan, "Trustee: We are not the enemy" (SN 11/22), the story paraphrases President Lou Anna K.
In a turn that should surprise no one, violence erupted in Iraq during the weekend. Sunni gunmen killed 21 Shiite men in front of their families, while elsewhere in the war-torn country, car bombs erupted killing 200 and further wounding 250. As the situation in Iraq steadily crumbles, U.S.
I would like to direct Jessica Byrom, "Affirmative action discriminates, not Proposal 2; move on already" (SN 11/21), toward the recent furor surrounding Michael Richards' (Cosmo Kramer from TV's "Seinfeld") tirade onstage at The Laugh Factory against a rowdy crowd member.
Be careful what you say or do — the Pentagon just might be watching you, especially if you're a member of an anti-war group. There have been numerous cases of our government unwarrantedly spying on U.S.
It was during Franklin Roosevelt's first term that Will Rogers is said to have joked: "I am a member of no organized political party — I am Democrat." As the dust of this momentous midterm election settles, that joke has been resurrected — mostly by people much less funny than Rogers — to describe the dilemma of the incoming Democratic majorities in both congressional houses.
The column by Jessica Byrom used the most idiotic and naive claims to support its arguments in, "Affirmative action discriminates, not Proposal 2; move on already" (SN 11/21). I would like to start by saying I have no stance on this issue, but the fact that this column was printed infuriated me.
Let's see if I have this right. When a Jeep, making a turn, runs down a pedestrian crossing the street, as one of those new timed walk signs is ticking down, it is the pedestrian's fault ("Getting hit by car is not my fault," SN 11/20). I have been complaining about pedestrian safety and right of way in East Lansing for many years, and unfortunately, this is typical.
I am writing this letter in response to Jessica Byrom's commentary in The State News on Tuesday "Affirmative action discriminates, not Proposal 2; move on already" (SN 11/21). While I will not call Byrom a racist, I do think her comments are a bit ignorant. Even though Proposal 2 did pass, you cannot tell me, an African American female, to just "get over it." I will learn to deal with it, but I will not get over it; that would be asking me to accept the fact that this state will lose what little diversity it has and that I will just have to accept the repercussions that will happen as a result of this. Because this proposal has passed, many people in this state will not have an opportunity to go to college, receive scholarships or even apply for a job just because it is now illegal to level the playing field for everyone.