Writing opinion columns from a godless perspective in a country brimming with religious beliefs predictably results in misunderstandings. Since this is my last semester writing a regular column for The State News (I can almost hear the collective sighs of relief), I'll address the most common misconception.
It was with great disappointment that I read your editorial "Bundle of protests" (SN 4/12) regarding anti-Nazi protesters.
I would like to expand on what J.C. Kibbey started to address in his editorial about students acting and not just complaining, "Students should act, not just complain" (SN 4/6). The fact is that no one cares about what is happening to this country, and no one is taking the time to educate others about it.
Bradley Wilson's 4/13 letter, "ASMSU benefits its members, not MSU" takes a narrow view about who does and does not benefit from ASMSU, MSU's undergraduate student government.
For the past few weeks, I wanted to write a column about the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, or MCRI, and affirmative action, but lacked the time.
Even as everyday technologies get more complex and demand more power, boosting energy conservation can be easy. Ah, the olden days.
I love Nazis because they make the rest of political discourse sound normal. In fact, Nazis make the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, or MCRI, sound like child's play.
Secrecy in the United States government has always been a problem. From The Pentagon Papers — documents former President Richard Nixon tried to stop The New York Times from publishing — to domestic wiretapping under President George W.
Basically, I just wanted to write in commenting on East Lansing's noise ordinance policy. Is there really any point to the city of East Lansing taking this thing to such extremes? It would be nice to have them remove the possibility of going to jail, but to be able to get a ticket on the spot for playing "flip cup" in your yard?
After reading Mike Hernandez's letter, "Randomly used policy limits free speech" (SN 4/05), regarding hate speech, I could not help but feel that he was missing a crucial point in the debate: Context matters. The emotional effect of a Ku Klux Klan, or KKK, rally is very different than any of the examples that Hernandez provides. The history of race relations in this country has been violent.
You know those slightly embarrassing photos of you on your 21st birthday on Facebook.com? Or the raunchy comments a friend posted on your wall? Whatever you have on your Facebook profile, remember that your friends aren't the only ones that could be looking at it. MSU administrators, professors and police can also access the Web site as long as they have an e-mail address that ends in ".edu." It's also possible students could get into legal trouble for stuff they put on Facebook. In 2004, some students in Case Hall were arrested for underage drinking.
I was a bit dismayed, and disappointed, that Adam Lark chose to begin his article "Potter Park endangered" (SN 4/7) by claiming that visitors to the zoo are greeted by the "ominous … shape of an American Indian." Dismayed because, as a member of the White Earth Band of Minnesota Chippewa, I see, once again, reporters (who should know better) falling back on the stereotypical image of "ominous" Native Americans doing what? Threatening zoo goers?
More than women are needed to spread sexual assault awareness. In part of celebrating Sexual Assault Awareness Month, on Tuesday the daylong ceremony Take Back the Night was held.
Isn't it odd that the only two people that have written in to defend ASMSU from its strongest critiques are two of its own members — Paul Harmon, "ASMSU doing best with circumstances" (SN 4/4), who a quick Google.com search shows is the former Association Director of ASMSU, and J.C.
Frank Zappa once said, "I'm not black, but there's a whole lot of times I wish I could say I'm not white." I can't say I disagree with him. As a white female, I obviously cannot even begin to understand the perspective of a minority, but I can still blatantly see the dangers that exist within America's racial reality. Racial tension might not be at an all-time high, but it definitely isn't lacking in our culture and society.
Tom Slanda, "Fixing schools will best help minorities" (SN 4/07), and Matt Maiuri, "Giving advantages won't mean success" (SN 4/06), would like readers to believe that affirmative action is nothing more than a handout to the undeserving.
The recent revelations that the MSU Board of Trustees is conducting business behind closed doors, "What's the secret?" (SN 4/04), should come as no surprise. Upon examining the official student life guide MSU publishes each year, Spartan Life, it becomes apparent that the functions of numerous boards of the MSU administration, such as the University Student Appeals Board, or USAB, also deprive students of their right to know what happens during official meetings. The USAB is charged with deliberating appeals filed to the Division of Student Affairs and Services, headed by Lee June, on a wide range of issues. Among the duties entrusted to the USAB is the authority to decide appeals based on due process violations.
Dorm dwellers and smokers beware — survey says you might have to light up on the street. After the Residence Halls Association's attempt at surveying students about smoking earlier this year, University Housing is stepping into the debate. But can a public university really ban smokers from smoking in their own homes? Earlier this year, the Residence Halls Association, or RHA, conducted a smoking survey which 1,120 students responded to.
Last week a friend of mine had to sit through one of the those dorm floor meetings about tolerance and racial tension on campus. My friend's hall mentor read aloud MSU's anti-discrimination policy, reminding the residents of the university's commitment to treating everyone fairly. What my friend noticed, but probably no one else did, is that her hall is inaccessible to people with physical disabilities.
I am writing in response to the column "Video games not cause of moral decay; politicians must dig deeper" (SN 4/07). Although some very valid points were made, and I wholeheartedly agree that it is much easier to point the finger at video games than at deeper societal issues (such as poor parenting), there still are some very real consequences for people (especially children) who play violent video games. Although I believe that it is decidedly within your rights to play whatever games you would like to, saying that playing violent video games has no consequences simply because you are able to "distinguish between fact and fiction" is an easy excuse, one that does not examine actual scientific fact. Studies by psychologists such as Douglas Gentile and Craig Anderson show significant negative impacts on people who play violent video games, including increased aggressive thoughts, feelings and behaviors (Anderson & Bushman, 2001). And studies find that violent video games might have even stronger effects on aggression in children because the games are highly interactive, reward violent behavior and because children perform these behaviors repeatedly as they play (Gentile & Anderson, 2003). When it comes to young adults, Sandra L.