Monday, July 6, 2026

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Commentary

COMMENTARY

Strengthen the sanctity of marriage with U.S. troops

Since one of the Bush administration's main priorities continues to be strengthening the sanctity of marriage, I would like to offer up an excellent solution. First, it should be noted that the gay community has no intention to wage war on heterosexual marriage.

COMMENTARY

America doesn't look like a country at war; daily lives seem untouched

Sometimes real life can feel like reality television. Although I'm not living in some sick immaculate loft, with five intentionally good-looking roommates with All-American bodies chiseled in sharp angles and donning perfectly white teeth lined like impeccable soldiers, there's still a certain sense of falsity in life these days I can't ignore. This isn't MTV.

COMMENTARY

Women's health advance should come before morals

I couldn't have agreed more with the editorial "Vaccine doesn't promote promiscuity" (SN 6/13). Plain and simple, a vaccine that prevents cervical cancer is a medical breakthrough — the first ever of its kind and an important advance in women's health.

COMMENTARY

Torture statement ignores war

Warfare implies death. It's not shocking that the idea of war revolves around the death of people fighting on both sides. While as a society we have been quick to accept the fact that the act of war nearly guarantees the loss of soldiers' and civilians' lives, we have a different view when it comes to torture. When pictures of prisoners at Abu Ghraib first surfaced, the American people responded with shock.

COMMENTARY

Gender equity in public education is necessary

The discussion about separating girls and boys into gender-specific classrooms for math and science classes in Michigan public schools is another clear example of a "Band-Aid" fix to recently come out of Lansing. State Board of Education Superintendent Mike Flanagan recently stated there's nothing wrong with exploring the option. I can agree with being open to exploring ideas, but to suggest that by segregating the sexes, "women get more involved, they answer questions and are more active" without males around does not take into account the reasons why that may be accurate.

COMMENTARY

As Alberto comes, don't forget last year's havoc

Stop watching "Laguna Beach." Please turn off "My Super Sweet 16." If you're going to watch any reality television — and by reality, I obviously mean "loosely scripted" — turn to "The Real World." It didn't happen on purpose, but somehow MTV got socially lucky.

COMMENTARY

Bush uses inappropriate argument to back up marriage amendment

In his recent support of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, President Bush stated that the reason we need to preserve marriage as a bond between a man and a woman is that it is the "most fundamental institution of civilization." While I appreciate a good political discussion, I expected the president of the United States and his speech writers to come up with a better argument than that. Aside from discussing what characteristics are used to define "civilization," and which institution might be the most important to it, cross-cultural evidence shows that marriage between one man and one woman is not universal — nor fundamental — to society. Since the U.S.

COMMENTARY

Vaccine doesn't promote promiscuity

So it's no surprise that with the introduction of the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer caused by human papillomavirus, or HPV, comes waves of protest. On Thursday the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, approved Merck & Co., Inc.'s vaccine for use in children and women ages 9 to 26. The vaccine, however, makes proponents of abstinence from sex until marriage wonder what effect the medical contribution will have on sexuality. But preventing the infection of more women is far more important than any obligation to moral standards. It seems those against issuing the vaccine value abstinence so much that the idea of preventing the incidence of this type of cancer is null. Much like the debates surrounding contraception, those against issuing the vaccine think that it will influence young women to become more sexually active because of the belief that they won't be at risk for acquiring forms of HPV. But if young women are given proper sexual education, they should understand that HPV is only one of many risks that come hand-in-hand with sexual intercourse.