Tuesday, July 7, 2026

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Commentary

COMMENTARY

Academic Governance faces new challenges next year

For MSU Academic Governance system, the 2005-2006 academic year was a good year. Day-to-day operations of university-level standing committees have continued to effectively deal with the issues mandated in bylaws for each standing committee — the governance Web site, www.msu.edu/unit/acadgov, enumerates these bylaws, and links to chronicles of standing committee actions, as well as listing other information about governance. In addition, in 2005-2006 governance has dealt with a number of global issues: the liberal learning core of undergraduate education, possible expansion of the MSU College of Human Medicine to Grand Rapids and reforms for the processes and structure of the Academic Governance system.

COMMENTARY

Gas crackdown

President Bush is finally getting the message that gas is too expensive and people are concerned about spending more per gallon. In an effort to show people he is concerned with something Americans have been worried about for months, Bush announced Tuesday a slew of new proposals to help lower the price of gas.

COMMENTARY

Poor choice, professor

Shame on you, Indrek Wichman. Come on, you didn't really send an offensive e-mail to a prominent student organization with the notion that it was going to be kept private — did you? Well, you're saying you did, but that was a pretty irresponsible move for an MSU professor. Seriously. The Muslim Students' Association received an e-mail Feb.

COMMENTARY

Pro-choice rhetoric ruins SN credibility

Mike Ramsey's cartoon (SN 4/18) is just a crass attack by a pro-choice advocate to make people think someone with a pro-life stance doesn't care about women's health. But what about the physical risks of abortion to a woman, let alone the emotional trauma? A Johns Hopkins University study showed that infections occurred in 5.2 percent of first trimester abortions and in 18.5 percent of mid-trimester abortions (and these numbers were taken at a prestigious medical center, not your run-of-the-mill abortion clinic which provides far inferior care). These infections, as well as hemorrhaging and uterine perforation (which the abortion procedure can cause), can be fatal to the woman. The emotional trauma of abortion occurs quite frequently as well. Post Abortion Syndrome, or PAS, considered a form of post-traumatic stress disorder, is widely prevalent but with varying symptoms in women who have had abortions.

COMMENTARY

Killer approval

The Food and Drug Administration has an enormous responsibility to protect consumers. It reviews new drugs and has the authority to pull drugs that could harm people from the market . But the FDA might not be living up to the standards necessary to protect consumers. According to a study by the Government Accountability Office, an investigative branch of Congress, the FDA is sometimes not quick enough in responding to safety issues in drugs on the market. The study also claims the FDA lacks an effective process for making decisions about and providing management oversight of safety issues for drugs on the market. The report was requested by Congress after the FDA was criticized for not acting more quickly on the drug Vioxx, which has been shown to increase the rate of strokes and heart attacks after long-term use. The report also states Congress needs to give the FDA the authority to make drug companies conduct studies of drugs on the market when additional data is needed. The relationship between people and the medications they take is such an important and intricate one that the FDA needs to be involved with. The FDA is under pressure from drug companies that want to release their drugs, which could benefit people and make a lot of money. The FDA is also under the public's pressure to get drugs that could help people out on the market. In that rush, drugs can make it into stores and people's medicine cabinets quickly. That's why it's important for the FDA to act as quickly as it can to investigate serious drug complications. It needs to carefully monitor the effects of drugs it's approving for the market. It should also have the authority to make drug companies conduct studies on drugs on the market if there have been reports of dangerous side effects. Drug companies have the responsibility to make sure the drugs they are making and selling are as safe as possible. It's the FDA's job to monitor these companies and make sure the drugs we're bringing home aren't lethal. As consumers, we should all be making careful decisions about what drugs we put in our bodies. But the FDA needs to make sure it's making sure these drugs are safe in the first place.

COMMENTARY

Atheists, agnostics not treated fairly

Whenever I profess that I'm not religious to a new friend, I have a twinge of stress. The reaction I usually get is "how can you live like that?" but there are far more pretentious responses I have received, such as "have you ever heard of don't ask, don't tell?" Since when did not being religious become a huge stigmatization?

COMMENTARY

Please don't freak out

Breathe. It's almost over. A smooth transition into sweet summer days is just around the corner — that is, if you're prepared for finals week. Flowers are popping up all over campus.

COMMENTARY

Going global

The U.S. government has created a new and extensive plan to combat global terrorism. The plan, which has been approved by Defense Secretary Donald H.

COMMENTARY

The big picture of news

It can be easy to feel like the war America is currently involved in is far away. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to gain a better understanding of the conflict. For most of us, the war in Iraq doesn't drastically affect our daily lives.

COMMENTARY

Change in E.L. parking policy might hurt students who don't know

Anyone who drives a car and lives in East Lansing knows how difficult it can be to find a place to park in this city. Especially in the neighborhoods. A colleague of mine recently reminded me of how hard parking can be and how the city often makes it a lot harder. He had a friend staying over at his house and wanted to call the East Lansing Police Department to have his friend's license plate number put on a list so he could park his car in the street and not get a ticket. It was something he had done before and was surprised to find out that he couldn't. I called East Lansing police Capt.

COMMENTARY

Skateboarding given inaccurate labels

In the past few weeks, my friends and I have been scolded, reprimanded and harassed for doing the one thing I love the most: skateboarding. In each case, both on and off campus, we are treated as children and criminals at the same time. Police officers rarely have the respect to get out of their vehicles when talking to us, and drunkards in downtown East Lansing continually shout, "Do a 900!" from a distance.

COMMENTARY

Attacks on Christians untrue, blasphemous

I can't say that I have ever had the displeasure of reading a column by John Bice, but I can say that I am thankful I will never have to again. I was perturbed, and downright outraged, at his column "Criticism warranted when any group forces its beliefs on others" (SN 4/17). If Bice had been raised Christian and was a true follower, he would understand that sharing one's faith is a basic tenant of Christianity. Christians do have the "intention of pushing their faith-based values on others." We are taught that not sharing your faith is like wasting a gift, one that everyone is entitled to and needs to know about.

COMMENTARY

Islam doctrine should be modernized with 'Enlightenment' ideas

In the fall of 2002, I wrote my first State News opinion column, "Religious majority doesn't understand atheist views" (SN 11/26/02). The lack of unapologetically secular and atheist perspectives in the mainstream press, especially at a time of increasing religious fundamentalism, motivated me to write. I'm appreciative to The State News for allowing me to articulate a minority and largely unwelcome viewpoint.

COMMENTARY

Not so clear-cut

For transgender individuals, choosing which bathroom to go into can be a dilemma. Do they go in the bathroom they are biologically assigned to?

COMMENTARY

OK, they're gone

The neo-Nazis drew a lot of media coverage for their visit to the Capitol this weekend. And they drew a lot of protesters too. Everything the neo-Nazis represent is despicable and backward.

COMMENTARY

Lansing's house of cards

Balancing a city budget can be a tricky process. Lansing is learning that the hard way as Mayor Virg Bernero and City Council members struggle to eliminate an $11-million budget deficit.

COMMENTARY

SN coverage of event disappointing, bad

I was very disappointed by the recent article on Take Back the Night, "Common cause" (SN 4/12). To be clear, it is not an event about sexual violence that happens to focus on women — it is an event about violence against women that focuses on sexual violence. In no way do I want to diminish the effect that sexual violence has on men, whether they are survivors or co-survivors, nor do I want to imply that there is no space for men in Take Back the Night. Men have been participating in the event for a long time. However, it is irresponsible for The State News to print an article that entirely focuses on men. Take Back the Night is not solely about how men need to be involved in preventing sexual violence. They do.